Seoul: A South Korean army helicopter crashed near a mountain, killing seven people on board, a Defence Ministry official said today.

The UH-1H crashed in Yangpyong in Gyeonggi province near Seoul around 1:40 am, killing two pilots, two medical officers and three soldiers, the ministry official said.

He asked not to be named because he was not permitted to speak to the media.

The accident happened as the chopper was returning to a base after transporting an emergency patient to a military hospital.

It was not immediately clear why the helicopter crashed, and an investigation was under way, according to the ministry.

Source : PTI