Pilot, hiroshi hiroshi, 66; Sakura kunitake, a helicopter mechanic and 28-year-old nurse, Kazuto Yoshitake, was rescued by the Coast Guard after being found in a body of waters that clung to a prone lifesaver. The three suffered from hypothermia but were conscious, Coast Guard officials told The Associated Press on condition of regulatory anonymity.
Yoshitake’s name was initially given a different spelling, but the Coast Guard later corrected it.
The doctor’s body, Kay Arakawa, 34; patient Mitsuki Motoishi, 86, and her caretaker Kazuyoshi Motoishi, 68, were later recovered by a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force helicopter.
The Coast Guard deployed two planes and three ships in the area as part of the rescue operation.
According to the Coast Guard, the helicopter was heading from an airport in Nagasaki Prefecture to a hospital in Fukuoka.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, the Coast Guard said Monday.
MNA/