A military helicopter with six people on board is missing after taking off from Orquideas island, east of Taiwan, the country's ministry of interior says.
The Black Hawk helicopter was on an emergency medical flight and is feared to have crashed in the Pacific Ocean on Monday night.
The helicopter arrived at the Orquideas Island from the city of Taitung, located in the southeast of Taiwan, at 11.09pm and took off at 11.48pm, but lost the contact with radar three minutes later.
Eyewitnesses, including relatives of some of those on board, said the helicopter took off and suddenly fell into the sea, the Taiwanese CNA agency said.
Rescue teams were trying to locate the helicopter and rescue the six people on board in difficult conditions.
