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08-04-2023
TOKYO: A Japanese military helicopter which went missing with 10 people aboard is thought to have crashed into the sea in Okinawa prefecture, officials say.
Floating debris that could be aircraft parts has been spotted during a search and rescue operation, they say.
“We believe that an air accident has occurred,” General Yasunori Morishita told reporters in Tokyo.
The UH60 helicopter, known as the Black Hawk, vanished from radar screens near the Miyako Island on Thursday.
The four-blade, twin-engine transport helicopter used by Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) went missing at about 15:55 local time (06:55 GMT), the military said.
It was surveying the local area at the time it disappeared.
Japan’s Coast Guard says patrol ships later retrieved a folded lifeboat that apparently belongs to the GSDF, according to Kyodo News.
Oil, and objects including what could be part of a rotor blade, have also been found in the sea the news agency reported.
The Miyako Island located about 400km (250 miles) east of Taiwan – houses a GSDF missile unit.
On Thursday, the officials claimed that a missing Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members is believed to have crashed into the sea off a southern island after objects appearing to be aircraft parts were spotted in the area, an official has said.
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on Thursday afternoon while on a reconnaissance mission north of Miyako Island, the head of the Ground Self Defense Force, Yasunori Morishita, said at a news conference.
Debris believed to be aircraft parts was spotted in the area, about 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) southwest of Tokyo, he said.
The government is aggressively building up its defense capability in southwestern Japan in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including Taiwan.
Kyodo News said Japanese coast guard ships also found traces of oil that may be related to the missing helicopter, but officials declined to confirm the report. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
