Taipei, June 10 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense on Saturday expressed sorrow over the death of Chi Po-lin, director of the much acclaimed documentary "Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above" who had also worked with the military to document stories in the Air Force.
"The defense ministry expresses sorrow over the unfortunate passing of Director Chi Po-lin," ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi told reporters.
The ministry also expressed its gratitude to Chi for having worked with the Air Force to film a documentary and make a short film, Chen said.
The second of these marked the 60th anniversary of the Air Rescue Group, established in 1954, with which Chi maintained a close relationship even after filming was finished, an Air Force official said.
The short film relates examples of the group's efforts to rescue people in all kinds of emergency situations, from the mountains to the sea, day or night.
In 2015, when a retired UH-1H helicopter returned to the Air Rescue Group's headquarters in Chiayi, after decades-long service in different air rescue units, Chi was there to document the historic moment from the air, the official said.
Chi continued to work with the Air Force and new projects were underway, the official said.
It was hard to believe the director had died, the official said, noting that Air Force officials had discussed new joint projects with him on the phone only on Friday.
Chi is believed to be one of the three people killed when the helicopter they were in crashed in a township in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County on Saturday.
The name of the 52-year-old director was in the passenger manifest. The chopper crashed in the mountainous region of Fengbin Township at about noon on Saturday, killing all three on board, according to Hualien police, who said the identities of the victims will be confirmed at a later date.
The helicopter, which belonged to Emerald Pacific Airlines , was engaged in aerial filming for the sequel to "Beyond Beauty" when it crashed, officials said.
