Two helicopters of the Japanese Navy with eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a night exercise. Rescuers are searching for the missing, the Japanese Defense Minister said, AP writes, UNN reports .
Details
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters that two SH-60K helicopters belonging to the Maritime Self-Defense Forces and carrying four crew members each lost contact on Saturday evening near Torishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, about 600 kilometers south of Tokyo.
One of the eight crew members was pulled out of the water, but his condition is unknown. The other seven were still being searched for.
The cause of the accident is unknown, Kihara said, adding that authorities are prioritizing the rescue operation.
Eight warships and five aircraft were deployed to search for and rescue the missing crew. According to Kihara, they found fragments that likely came from one of the SH-60Ks.
We believe that the helicopters crashed
According to Kihara, the helicopters, twin-engine multifunctional aircraft developed by Sikorsky and known as Seahawks, were used for nighttime anti-submarine training. They were conducting nighttime anti-submarine training in the waters. One lost contact at 10:38 pm local time after sending an emergency signal. The other lost contact about 25 minutes later. One belonged to an air base in Nagasaki and the other to a base in Tokushima Prefecture.
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