A major search operation is underway in Japan for the seven missing after two navy helicopters apparently collided over the weekend, killing one.
SH-60K helicopters, each with four crew members on board, were conducting submarine spotting drills Saturday night off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
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Ten ships and five planes from Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force were combing the waters, helped by others from the Air Self-Defense Force and the coast guard, a naval duty official said.
“We have a 24-hour search operation, which took place all day and all night,” said the navy officer.
Shortly after the incident, rescuers found a person later confirmed dead, along with debris and flight recorders, but there was no trace of the seven missing crew members.
“It is very regrettable that we lost our important personnel while they were participating in very tough night training that was carried out to fulfill their duties,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a televised legislative committee session on Monday. .
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said there is so far no information from flight recorders to suggest technical problems with the plane.
Navy Chief of Staff Ryo Sakai canceled 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 p.m. on Saturday off the island of Torishima, and a minute later an emergency signal was received from this plane, broadcaster NHK reported.
Around 11:04 p.m., the military realized that communication with the other aircraft in the same area had also been lost.
Last April, a Japanese military UH-60JA helicopter with 10 people on board crashed off Miyako Island, southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.
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