TAIPEI, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A military helicopter with 13 people on board was forced to land in a mountainous area of northern Taiwan Thursday morning with eight passengers killed and five rescued, the local authorities said.

The wreckage of the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter was found in the mountainous area of New Taipei City, where eight passengers were found "with no signs of life" and five were rescued, the island's authorities said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, the authorities said.