Crew missing after two Japanese helicopters crash during Pacific exercise | News

Search operation underneath manner after the SH-60 patrol helicopters presumably collided with one another throughout antisubmarine train off Izu Islands.

Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed into the Pacific Ocean throughout a night-time coaching train after presumably colliding with one another, killing one particular person, the defence minister mentioned on Sunday.

Rescuers on Sunday looked for seven others who had been nonetheless lacking.

The 2 SH-60 patrol helicopters had been conducting antisubmarine workouts on Saturday night time close to Torishima within the distant Izu island group, off the southern coast of central Japan.

Defence Minister Minoru Kihara mentioned rescuers “noticed what are believed to be a part of the plane within the sea, and we imagine that the 2 helicopters crashed”.

“At this level the trigger is unknown, however firstly we do our greatest to save lots of lives,” Kihara instructed reporters. Hours later, Kihara instructed reporters that the crew member who was rescued “was confirmed useless”.

He additionally mentioned the ministry “found the flight recorders in locations shut to one another”, and so the “chance is excessive that [the two helicopters] collided”.

“The flight recorders are being analysed,” Chief of Workers Ryo Sakai of the Japan Maritime Self-Protection Drive (JMSDF) instructed reporters, as officers are interviewing the crew of a 3rd helicopter that was becoming a member of the drill however was not concerned within the accident.

Communication with one chopper was misplaced at 10:38pm (13:38 GMT) off the island of Torishima, and one minute later an emergency sign was obtained from this plane, broadcaster NHK reported.

Roughly 25 minutes later, at about 11:04pm, the navy realised that communication with the opposite plane was additionally misplaced in the identical space.

The Mitsubishi SH-60K helicopters from the JMSDF are primarily based mostly on and function from naval destroyers.

The JMSDF mentioned as there have been no different plane nor vessels in close by waters, involvement of one other nation within the incident is unlikely, NHK added.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel mentioned in a message on social platform X that the US had supplied to assist with the search and rescue.

“We are going to stand collectively, aspect by aspect, with our good friend and ally, Japan. My ideas are with the crew members, and their households and mates throughout this difficult time,” he mentioned.

The crash comes a 12 months after a Floor Self-Defence Drive UH-60 Blackhawk crashed off the southwestern Japanese island of Miyako, attributable to an engine output downside often known as “rollback”, leaving all 10 crew members useless, which shocked the nation.

In 2017, a Japanese navy SH-60J, an earlier technology Seahawk, crashed throughout a night-time flight coaching off Aomori attributable to human error.