Fukuoka –

A helicopter crashed in Fukuoka Prefecture on Sunday, killing two people aboard, local authorities said.

At around 4:15 p.m., local fire authorities received an emergency call from a male passerby reporting that a helicopter crashed in the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, and that smoke was rising from the accident site.

The two people who were aboard the aircraft were confirmed dead at the site, according to sources including the Fukuoka police. The police are working to identify the victims.

According to sources including the aviation department of the Saga Prefectural Government, the crashed helicopter was a four-seater Robinson R44 type and was operated by SGC Saga Aviation, based in the city of Saga.

The helicopter was carrying the pilot, 50, and a mechanic, 70, when it crashed, the sources said. The victims, both of whom were men, were employees of SGC Saga Aviation.

The company said the helicopter with the pilot on board took off from Saga Airport shortly after 8 a.m. It then offered a pleasure flight after picking up a passenger at a race track in the city of Hita in nearby Oita Prefecture.

The chopper left for Saga Airport shortly before 4 p.m., with the pilot and the mechanic on board. It lost contact after communicating with SGC Saga Aviation around 4:10 p.m.

The transport ministry's Japan Transport Safety Board named two officers to take charge of the investigation into the cause of the crash.

The site of the accident, in an area with several rice paddies, is about 5.5 kilometers southwest of Yanagawa Station of Nishi-Nippon Railroad.