SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Major search operation after Japan navy choppers crash
Tokyo, April 22 (AFP) Apr 22, 2024
A major search operation continued off Japan on Monday for seven people missing after two navy helicopters apparently collided over the weekend, with one crew member confirmed dead.

The SH-60K helicopters each with four crew on board were conducting submarine location drills late on Saturday off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Ten ships and five aircraft from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force were combing the waters, aided by others from the Air Self-Defense Force and the coastguard, a navy duty official told AFP.

"We have a 24-hour operation for the search, which took place all day and all night," the navy officer said.

Soon after the incident rescuers found one person who was later confirmed dead, along with debris and flight recorders, but there was no trace of the seven missing crew.

"It is a matter of the utmost regret that we lost our important personnel as they engaged in a very tough, late-night training which was conducted in order to fullfil their duties," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a televised legislative committee session on Monday.

Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said that there was so far no information from the flight recorders to suggest any technical problems with the aircraft.

Navy chief of staff Ryo Sakai cancelled a planned visit to China, where he was to attend the Western Pacific Naval Symposium.

Communication with one of the helicopters was lost at 10:38 pm Saturday off the island of Torishima, and one minute later an emergency signal was received from this aircraft, broadcaster NHK reported.

Around 11:04 pm, the military realised that communication with the other aircraft was also lost in the same area.

Last April a Japanese army UH-60JA helicopter with 10 people on board crashed off Miyako island in southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Detection of ancient water ice suggests interstellar origins predating the Sun
Missing Matter in Universe Found
What if the Big Bang wasn't the beginning? Our research suggests it may have taken place inside a black hole

24/7 Energy News Coverage
World Bank lifts ban on nuclear energy financing
Waymo leads autonomous taxi race in the US
MXene infused printed nanogenerator advances ecofriendly wearable energy systems

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Israel, Iran exchange more deadly airstrikes on fifth day of conflict
Amid Israel-Iran war, Nimitz aircraft carrier to join Vinson in Middle East
B61-13 gravity bomb reaches first production milestone ahead of projected timeline

24/7 News Coverage
China expands disaster monitoring with launch of Zhangheng 1B satellite
Heat tolerant crops achievable but require long timelines and major investment
S.African president blames climate change for 'catastrophic' floods



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.