Three bodies found after helicopter crashed into radio tower in Taiwan

The bodies of three Taiwanese servicemen whose helicopter smashed into a radio tower in southern Taiwan were pulled from the mountaintop structure Wednesday, raising the crash death toll to eight, a rescue operation spokesman said.

The Vietnam War-era UH-1H helicopter flew into the radio transmission tower near the southern city of Kaohsiung on Tuesday during bad weather.

The bodies of five other crew members were recovered shortly after the incident.

A search and rescue team discovered the final three crew members' bodies stuck in the girders of the tower around noon Wednesday, rescue service spokesman Hsiao Guo-bing said.

"The bodies were found high up in the tower," he said.

On Tuesday Taiwan Radio quoted an unidentified witness as saying the pilot of the decades-old helicopter appeared to be unaware that the craft was approaching a mountain peak when the crash occurred.

"The mountain top was concealed by fog," the witness was quoted as saying. "The pilot apparently did not see the top and attempted to fly over it."

Fog and light rain persisted in the area Wednesday.

The army is investigating the incident.