Taiwan’s top military officer has died in a helicopter crash alongside seven other people.

General Shen Yi-ming, chief of general staff, was on the Black Hawk helicopter with 12 others when it crashed during an emergency landing in mountains outside the capital city Taipei.

Five people survived the crash, according to the country’s defence ministry.

The helicopter took off from Taipei’s Songshan air force base shortly after 7.50am on Thursday and was on its way to a base in Yilan County on the east coast.

Just over 10 minutes later, it dropped from the radar screen and went down in the mountainous, heavily-forested Wulai area southeast of the capital.

Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash Show all 7 1 /7 Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash Rescuers inspect the crash site of a UH-60M Black Hawk military helicopter near the mountains of Yilan County, Taiwan, 2 January 2020. Taiwan's top military officer, Shen Yi-ming, was among eight people who died in the crash during an emergency landing. EPA/Yilan County Fire Bureau Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash In this image made from video, emergency teams work at the crash site of a military helicopter in the mountains of Yilan, north eastern Taiwan, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. The defense ministry has confirmed Taiwan's top military officer Gen. Shen Yi-ming and others were killed in a crash of an air force helicopter. (Yilan Fire Bureau via AP) Yilan Fire Bureau via AP Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash This photo by Taiwan agency CNA Photo taken on January 1, 2020 and released on January 2, 2020 shows chief of the general staff, Shen Yi-ming, attending a New Year's Day flag-raising ceremony in Taipei. - Taiwan's top military chief Shen was killed in a helicopter crash on January 2, the defence ministry said, just days before the island goes to polls to elect a new president. (Photo by STR / CNA PHOTO / AFP) / - Taiwan OUT - Hong Kong OUT - China OUT - Macau OUT / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / CNA PHOTO" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by STR/CNA PHOTO/AFP via Getty Images) STR CNA PHOTO/AFP via Getty Images Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash Taiwan's top military officer, Shen Yi-ming, pictured 7 March, 2019. AP Photo/Johnson Lai, File Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash Shen Yi-ming, pictured 6 November, 2019. EPA/Military News Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash epa08098476 A handout image made available by the Yilan County Fire Bureau showing rescuers inspecting the crash site of a UH-60M military helicopter, near the mountains of Yilan county, Taiwan, 02 January 2020. A Taiwanese UH-60M military helicopter carrying 13 people crashed in mountains outside Taipei on 02 January 2020, leaving five people alive and 8 people, including Chief-of-Staff Shen Yi-ming, killed. The military officers were flying to Ilan County in eastern Taiwan to visit troops in Ilan ahead of the Chinese New Year, when the helicopter they were riding crashed in good weather. The cause of the crash is being probed. EPA/YILAN COUNTY FIRE BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES YILAN COUNTY FIRE BUREAU HANDOUT EPA/Yilan County Fire Bureau Taiwan's top military chief among eight killed in helicopter crash epa08098487 A handout photo made available by the Yilan County Fire Bureau shows rescuers at the site of a military helicopter crash in mountains outside Taipei, Tawian, 02 January 2020. A Taiwan Air Force UH-60M helicopter crashed in the mountains outside Taipei on 02 January 2020. Among the 13 people on board, five survived and eight, including Chief-of-Staff Shen Yi-ming, were killed, according to the Defence Ministry. The Taiwan Air Force has grounded all UH-60M helicopters while probing the cause of the crash. EPA/YILAN COUNTY FIRE BUREAU HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES YILAN COUNTY FIRE BUREAU HANDOUT EPA

It will likely be months before the cause of the crash is known, but the pilots, both of whom were killed, appeared to have been highly experienced.

Mr Shen had taken over as chief of the general staff in July after serving as commander of Taiwan’s air force.

He was responsible for overseeing the island’s defence against China, which threatens to use military force to annex what it considers its own territory.

Shen Yi-ming, Taiwan military's chief of general staff, who was among eight people killed during a helicopter crash near Taipei, Taiwan, 2 January, 2020. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai, File)

Alexander Huang, a strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan who had known Mr Shen for a decade, said he had stood out as a pilot and an officer.

He said: “He was very calm and very stable and unlike other army guys he was always smiling, so he got a specific leadership style that also made him a popular leader in the entire military.”

Taiwan’s military has operated Black Hawks for decades and in 2010 completed a sale for another 60 UH-60M Black Hawks from the US for $3.1bn.

The Black Hawk that crashed was a model dedicated to search and rescue and had been delivered in 2018, according to the ministry.

The loss of Mr Shen and other high-ranking officials will require a rapid reshuffle of positions but should have a minimal effect on Taiwan’s 11 January elections for president and lawmakers, according to Andrew Yang, a former deputy minister for policy.