Military chopper crashes in Japan, 3 feared dead

A transport helicopter from Japan's Self-Defense Force crashed in the country's south, leaving three people feared dead, officials said Saturday. The CH-47 chopper, which was on its way to pick up a critically ill patient on the southern island of Tokunoshima, crashed in a mountainous area of the island late Friday, according to a Defense Ministry official who spoke on customary condition of anonymity. Three out of the chopper's four crew have been discovered by rescuers and are feared dead, the official said.