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Taiwan's Top Military Official Missing in Helicopter Emergency

Reuters

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Taiwan's top military official is missing after a
   helicopter made an emergency landing in northern Taiwan, the island's
   defense ministry said Thursday.

   The defense ministry said a rescue mission was underway for the 13
   people on board the Black Hawk helicopter, which includes the Air Force
   General Shen Yi-ming, the island's chief of the general staff.

   Three people were still missing, including Shen, while several people
   were found alive, the ministry said, adding that a team has been
   dispatched for the rescue mission.

   The crash came a week before a key election Jan. 11, when the
   democratic island is to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.

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