TOKYO, Japan: At least seven crew members went missing Sunday after two Japanese military helicopters crashed overnight, local media reported.
The helicopter apparently crashed late Saturday off the coast of the Izu Islands in the Pacific during a nighttime training exercise, NHK reported.
According to reports, one person was rescued.
Contact with one helicopter was lost at 10:38 p.m. (1338 GMT), and about 25 minutes later, authorities learned that contact with the second helicopter had also been lost.
A spokesman for Japan’s Self-Defense Force (SDF) confirmed the late Saturday incident adding one person was rescued.
Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said rescuers “spotted what are believed to be part of the aircraft in the sea, and we believe that the two helicopters crashed.”
“At this point the cause is unknown, but firstly we do our best to save lives,” Kihara told reporters.
He said the helicopters were “doing drills to counter submarines at night”.
In response to China’s growing assertiveness in the region and North Korea’s unpredictability, Japan is increasing its defence spending and deepening cooperation with the United States and other Asian countries.
Last April, a Japanese military helicopter carrying 10 people crashed off the coast of Miyako island in southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.
In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashed off the coast of central off central Ishikawa region, killing its two pilots.
And in 2019, an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the ocean after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission.
Last November, a US Osprey military aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan, the latest in a series of deadly crashes that killed all eight people on board.
