Five people died when a rescue helicopter sent to help a party of climbers crashed in mountains near Tokyo Sunday, local media reported.
Two people survived the crash in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, police were quoted as saying.
The helicopter, belonging to the Saitama prefectural government, went down after lowering rescuers to help a 55-year-old woman, Kyodo news agency reported.
A warning had been issued by the local meteorological observatory of heavy rain and lightning in the area, it said.