An elderly Japanese woman plucked from typhoon floods later died after she fell out of the rescue helicopter.
The woman, 77, plummeted from the helicopter after her rescuers forgot to attach the hook on her safety harness, Japanese national media NHK. She was one of 35 people killed when Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on Saturday, bring widespread floods and destruction.
NHK reported that the Tokyo Fire Department had apologised for the accident, and confirmed that rescuers forgot to attach the hook. The accident happened on Sunday in Iwaki City, in Fukushima Prefecture. The woman fell from a height of about 40 metres and was confirmed dead after being taken to hospital.
Fire department officials told NHK that one person was supposed to attach the hook and another confirmed it was securely in place, but the procedure was not followed in this case.
The Tokyo Fire Department sent helicopters and staff to badly-flooded areas after Typhoon Higibis ripped through the country and left a trail of damage in its wake. The woman is one of 35 people thought to have died after Typhoon Hagibis tore through the country. More than a dozen people are still missing.
The typhoon lashed the country on the weekend and caused landslides, tornadoes and severe flooding, which destroyed homes and buildings. It caused airports, train stations and shopping precincts to ground to a halt, cancelled Rugby World Cup matches and forced millions of people to shelter indoors for their safety.
The storm moved away from land and headed back over the Pacific on Sunday. Rescues and widespread clean-up operations are under way across the country.
Source: Stuff
featured Image: A Japan Defence Force helicopter hovers above submerged residential area in Nagano on Sunday. Photo / Stuff
