Japanese military helicopter crashes in sea with 10 on board

Rescuers are looking for 10 individuals who were on board a Japanese military helicopter that apparently fell into the sea on Thursday, according to Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.

“I will continue to do my best to collect information on the damage and search for human lives,” Hamada told to reporters on Friday, apparently overtaken with sorrow.

According to Gen. Yasunori Morishita, chief of staff of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), rescuers have discovered what appear to be parts of the UH-60JA helicopter in the sea and are continuing to search for survivors.

If no survivors are recovered, the crash will be Japan’s bloodiest military aviation accident since 1995, according to the Defense Ministry.

The missing troops include two pilots, two mechanics and six passengers, among them Lt. Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto, a senior GSDF commander, Morishita said.

Sakamoto, commander of the 8th Division, had been newly appointed to his role on March 30, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported Friday.

The helicopter – which was surveying the local area – went missing Thursday at 3:56 p.m. local time after disappearing from radar screens off the coast of Miyako Island in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, according to the Defense Ministry.