3 weeks ago
4/20: Saturday Morning
Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying 8 unit members collapsed successful nan Pacific Ocean southbound of Tokyo during a nighttime training formation aft perchance colliding pinch each other, nan country's defense curate said Sunday. One unit personnel who had been recovered from nan waters was later pronounced dead, while rescuers searched for 7 others who were still missing.
The 2 SH-60K choppers from nan Maritime Self Defense Force were carrying 4 unit each and mislaid interaction precocious Saturday adjacent Torishima Island astir 370 miles southbound of Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters.
The origin of nan clang was not instantly known, but nan 2 helicopters mightiness person collided pinch each different earlier crashing into nan water, Kihara said.
Rescuers person recovered a formation information recorder, a leaf from each helicopter, and fragments believed to beryllium from some choppers successful nan aforesaid area, signs that nan 2 SH-60Ks were flying adjacent to each other, Kihara said. Officials will analyse nan formation information to effort to find what led to nan crash.
The MSDF deployed 8 warships and 5 craft for nan hunt and rescue of nan missing crew.
The helicopters, twin-engine, multi-mission craft developed by Sikorsky and known arsenic Seahawks, were modified and produced successful Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They were connected nighttime anti-submarine training successful nan waters, Kihara said. One mislaid interaction astatine 10:38 p.m. section clip Saturday and sent an automatic emergency awesome a infinitesimal later.
Only 1 distress telephone was heard — different motion nan 2 helicopters were adjacent nan aforesaid place, because their signals usage nan aforesaid wave and could not beryllium differentiated, Kihara said.
One belonged to an aerial guidelines successful Nagasaki, and nan different to a guidelines successful Tokushima prefecture.
The SH-60K craft is usually deployed connected destroyers for anti-submarine missions.
Saturday's training only progressive nan Japanese navy and was not portion of a multinational exercise, defense officials said. They said nary overseas craft aliases warships were spotted successful nan area.
Japan, nether its 2022 information strategy, has been accelerating its subject buildup and fortifying deterrence successful nan southwestern Japanese islands successful nan Pacific and East China Sea to antagonistic threats from China's progressively assertive subject activities. Japan successful caller years has conducted its ain extended naval exercises arsenic good arsenic associated drills pinch its state nan United States and different partners.
Saturday's clang comes a twelvemonth aft a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60 Blackhawk collapsed disconnected nan southwestern Japanese land of Miyako, leaving each 10 unit members dead. In January 2022, a Air Self-Defense F-15 combatant pitchy collapsed disconnected nan northcentral seashore of Japan, sidesplitting 2 crew.
Japan's NHK nationalist tv said nary upwind advisories were issued successful nan area astatine nan clip of Saturday's crash.
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- Helicopter Crash
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