One person was killed and another missing after a helicopter crashed at sea near the airport of Taiwan's Kinmen early Friday, local media reported.

Three people were on board when the BK117 helicopter of Taiwan-based Sunrise Airlines Co., Ltd. lost contact around 4:20 a.m. Friday.

Pilot Chiao Chia-jui is in stable condition after emergency treatment at a local hospital and the co-pilot Wu Jaw-kang is dead. The whereabouts of Hsu Huan-mou, the medical staffmember, remained unknown.

The helicopter was on its journey back to Kinmen, 150 nautical miles away from Kaohsiung, where it had left for an emergency transportation of a patient to Taipei at around 11 p.m. Thursday.

The search for the missing person is underway, according to local media.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2009)