At least one person is dead after a U.S. military aircraft crashed near an island off the coast of Japan on Wednesday morning.
The Japan Coast Guard confirmed toCNNthat they received information about the crash around 2:47 p.m. local time after they received an emergency call from a fishing boat near Yakushima Island, which is around 130 miles south of Japan’s Kyushu Island, according to theAssociated Press.
The 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters dispatched a patrol boat and aircraft to the area, per CNN. When the patrol boats got to the area at around 4 p.m. they rescued one man who was “unconscious and was not breathing” from the sea about 1.8 miles from Anbo Port, according toNBC News.
The person was later pronounced dead at a local area hospital, per AP. Those dispatched to the area also found debris believed to be from the aircraft along with an empty inflatable life raft.
A Japan’s coast guard vessel conducts a search and rescue operation near Yakushima Island.Kyodo News via AP
Kyodo News via AP
Japan Coast Guard officials confirmed to CNN that an Osprey military aircraft crashed and that six people were onboard — which was revised from officials’ initial report that there were eight passengers and crew.
Kazuo Ogawa, a Coast Guard spokesperson, told AP that the status of the five other members of the aircraft was currently unknown and that they are still investigating the cause of the crash.
The U.S. Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“The government will confirm information about the damage and place the highest priority on saving lives,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, per AP. The crash has been classified as an attempted emergency sea landing, according to the outlet.
A Bell Boeing CV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF) 353rd Special Operations Group, at Yokota Airbase, Tokyo, Japan.Alamy
Alamy
Japan’s Vice Defense Minister Hiroyuki Miyazawa told reporters, per NBC News, that it was a CV-22 Osprey from the U.S. Air Force Yokota Air Base that had been involved in the crash.
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There have been several crashes involving Osprey aircraft this year, including one in August when a U.S. Marine CorpsMV-22B Osprey crashed on Melville Islandin Australia killing three and injuring at least 20 others.
Last year in June,five marines also diedafter an MV-22B Osprey crashed during a training mission near Glamis, Calif.
source: people.com
