Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
World
Home / World / Americas

Crash kills US Marine; teams search for 5 in sea near Japan

Updated: 2018-12-07 01:34
Share
Share - WeChat
A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel and US Navy airplane conduct search and rescue operation at the area where two US Marine Corps aircraft have been involved in a mishap in the skies, off the coast of Kochi prefecture, Japan, in this aerial view photo taken by Kyodo December 6, 2018. Photo/Agencies

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 - One US Marine was killed and rescue teams were searching for five others missing after two Marine Corps aircraft collided in mid-air and crashed into the sea off the coast of Japan during a refueling exercise, officials said on Thursday.

Japanese and American officials said they had so far found two of the seven Marines who had been aboard the aircraft, an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and a KC-130 Hercules.

"One of the recovered Marines is in fair condition and the other has been declared deceased by competent medical personnel," a US Marine Corps statement said.

The deadly crash is the latest in a string of US military aviation accidents around the world in recent years, which have prompted hearings and criticism in Congress over aircraft safety.

"The aircraft were conducting routine training and aerial refueling was a part of the training," the Marine Corps said, without giving any information on the possible cause of the crash.

The incident occurred around 2 a.m. local time in Japan (1700 GMT Wednesday) about 320 km (200 miles) off the Japanese coast.

"The incident is regrettable, but our focus at the moment is on search and rescue," Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference. "Japan will respond appropriately once the details of the incident are uncovered."

A US Navy P-8A patrol and surveillance aircraft was helping in search and rescue efforts along with Japanese authorities, the Marine Corps said, adding that the incident was under investigation.

Reuters

 

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US