One person is dead and seven people are missing after two Japanese military helicopters crashed in the sea overnight.
A spokesman for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSF) confirmed to AFP the incident, which happened in the late hours of April 20, and said one person had been rescued but was later confirmed dead.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said rescuers "spotted in the sea what is believed to be part of a helicopter, and we believe the two have crashed."
"At this stage the cause is unknown, but first and foremost we are doing everything we can to save human lives," Kihara stressed. He explained that the helicopters were "conducting anti-submarine warfare exercises at night". Hours later, Kihara confirmed that the rescued crew member had died. He also said the ministry had recovered the flight recorders and was "analyzing the cause of the accident, including the possibility of a collision between the two helicopters".
The helicopters appeared to have crashed during nighttime training off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean, broadcaster NHK said. Contact with one helicopter was lost at 10:38 p.m. local time off the island of Torishima, and an emergency signal was received a minute later. About 25 minutes later, at around 11:04 p.m., the military learned that communication with the other helicopter had also been lost in the same area.
The Mitsubishi SH-60K helicopters of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) operate mainly from naval destroyers.
The MSDF said that since there were no other aircraft or vessels in the nearby waters, the involvement of a foreign country in the incident was unlikely, NHK added.
Japan is increasing its defense spending and deepening cooperation with the US and other countries in Asia in response to growing Chinese assertiveness in the region and an unpredictable North Korea.
In April last year, a Japanese army helicopter with 10 people on board crashed off Miyako Island in southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.
On board the UH-60JA were two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members, including an Army general from the 8th Division.
In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashes in the waters off central Ishikawa Prefecture, killing the two pilots on board.
And in 2019, an F-35A stealth fighter jet crashed into the sea after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission. The pilot who died in the crash appeared to be suffering from spatial disorientation.
In November last year, an Osprey military aircraft belonging to the US military crashed off Japan, killing all eight people on board. The following month, the United States decided to ground tilt-rotor aircraft worldwide. Japan also landed its fleet. /BGNES
