28 August 2017

News Story: 3 missing after MSDF helicopter crashes in Sea of Japan

A JMSDF SH-60J Seahawk (Image: Wiki Commons)
TOKYO, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter belonging to Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) crashed during a drill Saturday night, leaving three crew members missing.

The SH-60J patrol helicopter lost contact at around 10:50 p.m. local time (1350 GMT) on Saturday during a landing and takeoff drill on a destroyer off Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, according to Japan's Defense Ministry.

Four people were on board the helicopter. One of them was rescued some 40 minutes after the incident, and the MSDF and Japan Coast Guard are still searching for the other three, according to the MSDF.

Japan's new Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters on Sunday that parts of the wreckage of the helicopter had been found around the crash area.

Read the full story at Xinhua