THREE people have been killed after a medical helicopter carrying a patient plunged into the sea in Japan.

A further three people including the pilot, nurse and helicopter mechanic were rushed to hospital after being rescued by the coastguard.

The medical transport carrier fell into the sea in southwestern Japan on Sunday, according to the Japan coast guard.

The coast guard deployed two planes and three ships to the area as part of the rescue operation.

The pilot, Hiroshi Hamada, 66, Katsuto Yoshitake, helicopter mechanic and nurse, Sakura Kunitake, 28, were rescued by the coast guard shortly after the crash.

The trio were found in the water clinging to inflatable lifesavers before they were rushed to hospital.

They were conscious but suffered hypothermia, an official with the coast guard told The Associated Press.

The bodies of medical doctor, Kei Arakawa, 34, Mitsuki Motoishi, 86, the patient, and her caretaker Kazuyoshi Motoishi, 68, were all killed in the fatal crash.

Their bodies were recovered from the water by a Japan Air Self-Defense Force helicopter.

The six people were on their way to a hospital in Fukuoka from an airport in Nagasaki Prefecture, when it crashed, according to the coast guard.

The cause of the accident remains unclear.

This comes after three died in a deadly helicopter crash in Italy back in February.

CEO of the Rovagnati cured meats empire, Lorenzo Rovagnati, 42, died in the horror crash alongside the two pilots.

The chopper plunged into the grounds of Castelguelfo di Noceto – which is owned by the Rovagnati family.

In January there was another fatal collision – this time between an American Airlines passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter in Washington DC.

All those onboard the American Airlines plane, 60 passengers and four crew members, are thought to have died in the crash which was labelled the deadliest aviation disaster in 24 years.

The passengers included a number of professional ice skaters.

Three soldiers were also aboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight, a US official said.

Radio communications between the air traffic control tower and the Black Hawk show that the helicopter crew was aware that the twin-engine passenger plane was nearby.

Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, given the call sign PAT25, before it collides with the plane, a Bombardier CRJ700.

“PAT25, do you have a CRJ in sight? PAT25, pass behind the CRJ,” an air traffic controller says at 8:47 pm, according to a recording on liveatc.net.

Seconds later, another aircraft calls in to air traffic control, saying, “Tower, did you see that?” – apparently referring to the fireball in the sky when the crash happened.

An air traffic controller then redirects planes heading to runway 33 to go around and divert from the airport.

A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington shows an explosion mid-air across the Potomac at about 8:47 pm with an aircraft and debris in flames falling rapidly.

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk fact file

A SIKORSKY UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines plane carrying 64 people on January 29. The collision happened as the jet was about to land at Reagan national airport.

Army personnel have used Black Hawk helicopters since the late 1970s.

Black Hawk helicopters don’t just transport troops; the flying machines are used in search and rescue missions, and deliver supplies to war-torn nations.

Here are some facts about the helicopter:

• Cost: Between $5.9 million and $10.2 million.
• Top speed: 183mph.
• Range: 1,380 miles.
• Engines: Powered by two electric engines that have 2,000 horsepower each.
• Length: 50 feet one inch.
• Height: 16 feet 10 inches.
• Troop capacity: Up to 11 fully equipped soldiers.