Rescuers have plucked eight people to safety south of Japan after a US Navy aircraft with 11 people on board came down in the Philippine Sea, the latest accident to hit American armed forces in East Asia.
Tokyo: Rescuers have plucked eight people to safety south of Japan after a US Navy aircraft with 11 people on board came down in the Philippine Sea, the latest accident to hit American armed forces in East Asia.
Japanese and American forces scrambled to reach the downed C2-A “Greyhound” aircraft in waters off the remote uninhabited Japanese reef of Okinotori on Wednesday.
The US Navy said the rescued personnel were being transferred to USS Ronald Reagan for medical evaluation and were in good condition.
US authorities told Japan that engine trouble was the suspected cause of the accident.
“The aircraft was conducting a routine transport flight carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to USS Ronald Reagan,” the US Navy said in a statement.
The aircraft carrier was in the Philippine Sea as part of an exercise with Japanese forces, it said. In Tokyo, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said a joint operation had been launched.
“Currently a search-and-rescue mission is being conducted in the area by the US side as well as the Japan maritime self defence force,” he told reporters.
