A MAJOR search is still underway after two Japanese navy helicopters are believed to have collided, killing one and leaving seven missing.
The SH-60K helicopters lost contact late on Saturday while conducting anti-submarine warfare drills off the Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
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Officials believe the two helicopters, each with four crew on board, likely came too close and smashed into one another.
Ten ships and five aircraft from the Japan’s Maritime and Air Self-Defense Force were still combing the waters for survivors today.
“We have a 24-hour operation for the search, which took place all day and all night,” the navy officer said.
A crew member who was recovered early Sunday from the water was later pronounced dead.
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Other debris was also quickly found, but there has been no trace of the seven missing crew.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday: “It is a matter of the utmost regret that we lost our important personnel as they engaged in a very tough, late-night training which was conducted in order to fulfil their duties.”
Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said that there was so far no information from the flight recorders to suggest any technical problems with the aircraft.
The flight data recorders from the two choppers were found close together, along with a blade from each helicopter, helmets and fragments – providing signs the two SH-60Ks crashed almost at the same spot, officials said.
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Communication with one of the helicopters was lost at 10:38pm Saturday off the island of Torishima and one minute later an emergency signal was received.
Around 11:04pm, the military realised that communication with the second aircraft was also lost in the same area.
The twin-engine, multi-mission helicopters – known as Seahawks – were modified and produced in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Japan has about 70 of the modified Seahawks.
The crash comes as Japan accelerates its military buildup and fortifies its defences in the Pacific and East China Sea to counter threats from China’s increasingly aggressive military.
Japan in recent years has conducted its own extensive naval exercises as well as joint drills with the United States and other partners.
Last April, a Japanese army UH-60JA helicopter with 10 people on board crashed off Miyako island in southern Okinawa. There were no survivors.
In July 2021, two SH-60s had a minor collision off the southern island of Amami Oshima, with both suffering blade damage, but causing no injuries.
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Following the 2021 collision, the navy introduced a set of measures aimed at ensuring enough distance between aircraft.
In 2017, a Japanese navy SH-60J, an earlier generation Seahawk, crashed during nighttime training due to human error, killing three crew.
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Source: Sun
