Two Japanese journalists have been found dead on a mountain after setting off to find the wreckage of a rescue helicopter that crashed in the area last week.

Reporter Yuji Kita and cameraman Jun Kawakami, who were working for Nippon Television, were found in a pool of water 980ft below a mountain trail near the city of Saitama, northwest of Tokyo. According to Kyodo News, autopsies have confirmed both men drowned.

The helicopter had crashed the previous Sunday while attempting to rescue a female climber, killing five of the seven passengers. The climber later died from her injuries.

Nippon Television staff alerted the authorities on Saturday night when Kita and Kawakami, who headed into the mountainous area earlier that day, failed to return. Police in the region had asked media organisations to refrain from gaining access to the crash site due to the terrain was dangerous.