Japanese Black Hawk military helicopter with ten crew crashes into sea off country’s south as rescuers find debris and hunt for survivors
- Two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members were on board the helicopter
- Rescuers have retrieved several pieces of debris, including a door and a life raft
- A Lieutenant General was one of ten men aboard the craft when it disappeared
Rescuers in Japan have found parts of a military helicopter floating in the sea a day after it disappeared from radar with 10 people on board, the coastguard said Friday.
Two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members were on board the UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter when it went missing shortly before 4:00pm local time (0700 GMT) on Thursday as it flew above waters off Miyako island in southern Okinawa.
Coastguard rescuers have discovered several pieces of debris that appear to be from the helicopter, including a door, a snapped blade and a yellow life raft that was still packed inside a bag.
Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada appeared to hold back tears as he promised Friday to continue the search.
‘We conducted search and rescue operations in the area throughout the night, but we have yet to find General (Yuichi) Sakamoto of the Ground Self Defence Force 8th division as well as the nine other individuals,’ he said, his voice quavering.
‘We will make every effort to find the 10 people who are missing.’
Coast guard members retrieve a door from the sea, off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, April 7, 2023
Flotsam is floating on the surface in the search area after a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) military helicopter with 10 people on board disappeared
This photo provided by the 11th Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters, the door that the coast guard found and retrieved from the sea, off Miyako Island
An undated handout photo made available by Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) shows a JGSDF UH-60JA helicopter at an undisclosed location in Japan
Lieutenant General Yuichi Sakamoto, commander of the 8th Division of the Ground Self-Defence Force, in Kumamoto, was aboard the helicopter that disappeared
There was no indication yet of what caused the apparent accident, which occurred as the aircraft was on a reconnaissance mission in the area.
It disappeared from radar only 10 minutes after departing from a base on Miyako Island and is believed to have crashed into the water between Miyako and nearby Irabu Island to the northwest.
The area is about 1,120 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Coast guard patrol ships found an unused lifeboat whose serial number matched that of the missing helicopter and a door believed to belong to the same aircraft near the presumed crash site, army officials said.
The helicopter was stationed at a key army base in Kumamoto prefecture on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, Morishita said Thursday night. One of its 10 crew members is the division commander, Yuichi Sakamoto, who was just promoted to the post at the end of March.
The army said the helicopter had a routine safety inspection in late March. No abnormality was found during its subsequent test flight or on its trip from its home base of Kumamoto to Miyako island.
According to the Defense Ministry, Japan started deploying the Black Hawk, a twin-engine, four-bladed utility helicopter developed by U.S. manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft and produced by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, in 1999 for rapid response, surveillance and disaster relief missions.
A handout photo made available by the Japan Coast Guard 11th Regional Headquarters via Jiji Press shows a part believed to be that of the missing helicopter in the sea off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture
This photo provided by the 11th Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters shows a part of rotary wing that the coast guard found and retrieved from the sea, off Miyako Island
Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force personnel look out from the northern top of Irabu Island during the search operation for a missing UH-60JA helicopter in the sea off Miyako Island
Japan is aggressively building up its defence capability in its southwestern islands in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including near Taiwan.
But its military, which is limited to ostensibly defensive activity by the country’s post-war constitution, has seen occasional accidents.
In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashed in waters off central Ishikawa region, killing two pilots on board.
And in 2019, an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the sea, after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission. The accident sparked a scramble to recover the pilot and secrets on board.
Japan’s defence ministry subsequently said the pilot, who died in the crash, appeared to have suffered spatial disorientation.
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