BEIJING – A rescue helicopter has crashed in Japan, Several media reportshave surfaced.

Nine people aboard the rescue helicopter were killed in the deadly crash.

Helicopter crashed on Friday in a mountainous area in central Japan duringa training flight, officials said.

Aerial footage broadcast on Japanese TV showed the wreckage of the crashedhelicopter surrounded by trees in Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, andofficers in navy uniforms examining the site.

“Eight people were found near the site, but we don’t know their condition,”a defence ministry official told AFP.

The Bell 412 helicopter left its base earlier Friday on a two-hour flightto observe climbing routes between Gunma and Nagano prefectures from theair, according to public broadcaster NHK.

But the helicopter did not return by its scheduled arrival time and lostcontact with air traffic control, said Hiroshi Yoshida, a local official.

Passengers included disaster management officials and firefighters, headded.

The defence ministry official confirmed that the crashed helicopter inGunma was the one that went missing. Helicopter accidents are not rare inJapan.

In February, two pilots were killed in a military helicopter crash insouthern Japan. It went down seven minutes after takeoff, slamming into andsetting on fire a house that was completely destroyed in the accident.

And last year, nine people aboard a helicopter were killed after it crashedduring a mountain rescue drill.