South Korean rescuers located <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/seven-south-koreans-missing-after-helicopter-crash-near-disputed-islets-259203">three bodies</a> believed to be among seven who went missing after their chopper crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from islets disputed with Japan, officials said Saturday.&nbsp;

The helicopter had just picked an injured fisherman up from Dokdo, which is known as Takeshima in Japan when it went down on Thursday night.

One body was found inside the chopper located at a depth of 72 metres, 600 metres south of the islets, while the other two were found in the water nearby, a Coast Guard representative told reporters.

The crashed chopper,&nbsp;which rescuers located on Friday,&nbsp;sat upside down on the seabed, he said, adding its tail had broken off and had been found 110 metres away. &nbsp;

It was not yet possible to identify the three bodies, he said, adding that a search operation was underway to retrieve them and find the other four still missing.

The bodies were found by an unmanned submarine, although divers would attempt to retrieve them manually for fear using the submarine's "robot-arm" could damage the remains.&nbsp;

"We will do our best till the end to bring those missing back to their families," he added.&nbsp;

Ships and divers from the defence ministry and members of the National Fire Agency and civilian volunteers have been mobilised for the search operation, authorities said.&nbsp;

The crashed chopper is a Eurocopter EC225, made by the European aerospace corporation Airbus.

The seven people on board were five rescuers, the fisherman and a civilian.

Seoul has controlled the islets in the Sea of Japan,&nbsp;or East Sea,&nbsp;since 1945, when Tokyo's brutal colonial rule on the peninsula ended, while Japan still claims sovereignty over them.

South Korean rescuers located three bodies believed to be among seven who went missing after their chopper crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from islets disputed with Japan, officials said Saturday.

South Korean rescuers located three bodies believed to be among seven who went missing after their chopper crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from islets disputed with Japan, officials said Saturday. The helicopter had just picked an injured fisherman up from Dokdo, which is known as Takeshima in Japan when it went down on Thursday night. One body was found inside the chopper located at a depth of 72 metres, 600 metres south of the islets, while the other two were found in the water nearby, a Coast Guard representative told reporters. The crashed chopper, which rescuers located on Friday, sat upside down on the seabed, he said, adding its tail had broken off and had been found 110 metres away. It was not yet possible to identify the three bodies, he said, adding that a search operation was underway to retrieve them and find the other four still missing. The bodies were found by an unmanned submarine, although divers would attempt to retrieve them manually for fear using the submarine's "robot-arm" could damage the remains. "We will do our best till the end to bring those missing back to their families," he added. Ships and divers from the defence ministry and members of the National Fire Agency and civilian volunteers have been mobilised for the search operation, authorities said. The crashed chopper is a Eurocopter EC225, made by the European aerospace corporation Airbus. The seven people on board were five rescuers, the fisherman and a civilian. Seoul has controlled the islets in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, since 1945, when Tokyo's brutal colonial rule on the peninsula ended, while Japan still claims sovereignty over them.

Three bodies found after South Korean helicopter crash near disputed islets

Japan issued a new protest to Beijing today after Chinese coastguard ships and about 230 fishing vessels sailed close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around disputed islets in the East China Sea, Japan&#39;s foreign ministry said. 
 
The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions in Asia, less than a month after an arbitration court in the Hague invalidated China&#39;s sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines. 
 
China has refused to recognise the ruling. Japan called on China to adhere to the verdict, which it said was binding, prompting warnings from Beijing to Tokyo not to interfere. 
 
Three of the six Chinese coastguard ships that were in the so-called contiguous waters today appeared to be armed, Japan&#39;s coast guard said.&nbsp;Yesterday, a Japanese foreign ministry official said Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around the islets. 
 
Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them.&nbsp;A senior Japanese foreign ministry official today issued a protest to a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo, calling on the coastguard ships to leave the area immediately and condemning the action as a unilateral escalation of tensions, the ministry said. 
 
Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama yesterday summoned China&#39;s ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said.&nbsp;Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday. 
 
China on Friday accused Japan&#39;s new defence minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War II. 
 
Ties between China and Japan, the world&#39;s second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans&#39; wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry. 
 
(Reuters)

Three of the six Chinese coastguard ships that were in the so-called contiguous waters appeared to be armed, Japan's coast guard said

Japan issued a new protest to Beijing today after Chinese coastguard ships and about 230 fishing vessels sailed close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around disputed islets in the East China Sea, Japan's foreign ministry said. The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions in Asia, less than a month after an arbitration court in the Hague invalidated China's sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea, in a case brought by the Philippines. China has refused to recognise the ruling. Japan called on China to adhere to the verdict, which it said was binding, prompting warnings from Beijing to Tokyo not to interfere. Three of the six Chinese coastguard ships that were in the so-called contiguous waters today appeared to be armed, Japan's coast guard said. Yesterday, a Japanese foreign ministry official said Chinese coastguard ships and fishing vessels entered what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around the islets. Beijing claims the uninhabited, Tokyo-controlled East China Sea islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends its coastguard vessels near them. A senior Japanese foreign ministry official today issued a protest to a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo, calling on the coastguard ships to leave the area immediately and condemning the action as a unilateral escalation of tensions, the ministry said. Japanese vice foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama yesterday summoned China's ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said. Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday. China on Friday accused Japan's new defence minister, Tomomi Inada, of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War II. Ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have been plagued by the territorial row, the legacy of Japans' wartime occupation of parts of China and regional rivalry. (Reuters)

Japan protests after China coastguard, fishing vessels sail near disputed islets

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