An official says a helicopter with three crew aboard has crashed into a mountain while on a mission to rescue villagers whose homes were destroyed by a powerful typhoon. Disaster official Chen Chung-hsien says the helicopter crashed Tuesday in bad weather while flying to Wutai, a mountainous region in southern Pingtung county. TV stations earlier erroneously reported six people were aboard. Chen says wreckage of the helicopter was spotted on a riverbed but it was unclear if there were survivors. Mudslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot inundated several remote villages on Friday and Saturday. Authorities say at least 41 people were confirmed dead and 60 were missing. Officials said another 100 residents may have been buried alive in Shiao Lin village.
