A civilian helicopter crashed on a hillside in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, at 7:46 a.m. on Wednesday. A pilot in his 60s and a power tower construction official in his 50s were on board, and both of them were found in a state of cardiac arrest. They were immediately sent to hospital, but did not survive.

The helicopter reportedly took off from Gimpo International Airport Wednesday morning and was carrying materials for the construction of a transmission tower. Police presume that the helicopter crashed after being caught on power cables. No secondary damage such as fire caused by the crash was detected.

The helicopter was leased to Gangwon Province for forest fire extinguishing purposes, but was put into use for the transmission tower construction just days after being excluded from a forest fire extinguishing mission.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport dispatched an investigation team to determine the exact cause of the accident.