Hong Kong couple badly hurt in Japanese helicopter crash seek help from city’s immigration authorities
- City’s Immigration Department says it is working with Chinese consulate in Fukuoka to provide help to Hong Kong man and woman
- Aircraft forced to make an emergency landing in Kumamoto prefecture’s Aso city on Sunday after experiencing mid-flight engine failure
Hong Kong immigration authorities have reached out to a couple from the city who were among three people seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Japan.
The Immigration Department on Tuesday said it was working with the Chinese consulate in Fukuoka to provide help to the man and woman.
According to Japanese media, a sightseeing helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing around noon on Sunday in Kumamoto prefecture’s Aso city after suffering a mid-flight engine failure.
Local authorities said the aircraft hit the ground hard, with all three people on board suffering serious injuries. The Hong Kong couple, both in their thirties, sustained hip and rib fractures, while their pilot, a man in his fifties, broke his spine.
The helicopter sustained damage to its landing gear and tail.
Japanese media said the helicopter had taken off from an airfield at local zoo Aso Cuddly Dominion.
It was returning from a flight over the Nakadake volcanic crater at Mount Aso when it crashed-landed on mountains about 50 metres (164 feet) from a care facility for the elderly.
No one on the ground was injured.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the pilot heard a strange noise coming from the helicopter’s rear section and noticed a quick drop in engine speed, prompting him to attempt an emergency landing.
Three accident investigators were dispatched to the scene on Monday to determine the cause of the crash, it added.
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department said on Tuesday it had received a request for help from the couple, and had got in touch through the consulate in Fukuoka.
It reminded residents travelling abroad that they could call city authorities using the (852) 1868 hotline, or with the same number on WhatsApp. An online assistance request form is also available on the department’s website.
According to Aso Cuddly Dominion’s website, helicopter excursions are a main attraction at the zoo.
The company offers various helicopter trips around the local mountains, from a four-minute journey around the foot of Mount Aso to a 10-minute one that includes the grassy plains of Kusasenri and the Nakadake crater.
A 15-minute chartered trip is also available for up to three people for 50,000 Japanese yen (HK$2,400).
According to its website, the zoo does not accept advanced bookings, noting some flights may be cancelled in the event of adverse weather.
