The helicopter crashed and caught fire during a test flight. [Courtesy]

Five people were killed and one injured when a South Korean military helicopter crashed on Tuesday at a marine base in the country’s southeast, the defence ministry said.

The military helicopter crashed and caught fire during a test flight after repairs at the base in the port city of Pohang, the ministry said in a statement.

It crashed from a height of about 10 m (33 ft) on a runway at a key Marine Corps base where U.S. and South Korean marines hold annual military drills, and a fire broke out, it said in a statement.

Five of those aboard were killed and it said, adding that the military would set up a panel to determine the cause of the crash.

“Five of the six crew members on board were killed and the remaining one has been taken to hospital due to injury,” it said.

The ministry said an investigation into the cause would be launched but did not specify whether all victims were soldiers.

The helicopter was a domestically made model known as the MUH-1 or Marineon, Yonhap news agency said.

No further details were immediately available.