Taiwan’s chief of general staff Gen. Shen Yi-ming, got killed along with 8 other top military officials after a helicopter crash-landed into mountains near Taipei on Thursday. The perish Gen. Shen, 62, and 10 top armed officers alongside 3 crew members were on a routine task to visit soldiers in the northeast Yilan when the incident occurred — five people survived. Our heartfelt sympathies to the families & friends of those who lost their lives during the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter emergency landing in northern Taiwan. The country deeply mourns Chief of the General Staff Gen. Shen Yi-ming & the other brave & dedicated military personnel. — 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) January 2, 2020 The Black Hawk helicopter left Songshan Airport in Taipei, the capital, shortly before 8 a.m. to fly to Yilan County in northeastern Taiwan, and lost contact after 13 minutes, the defense minister said while briefing the media. Although the military department has not yet confirmed what caused the incident, yet an investigation team has been made to probe. The incident comes ahead of Taiwan’s general election on 11 January which is seen as a referendum on relations with Beijing, where authorities see the island as a breakaway province that must be brought back under its control On the other hand, President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election, cancelled all campaign activities until Saturday, promising a swift rescue operation. Meanwhile, the rescue operation is underway.