A US military Osprey aircraft crashed into the ocean near the small southern Japanese island of Yakushima on Wednesday, with eight people on board, as confirmed by a U.S. defense official to CBS News. The crash resulted in at least one crew member’s death, with ongoing search operations for the others.
According to an official from Japan’s coast guard, one crew member was recovered dead, and the search continued into the night for the remaining individuals from the Osprey. Two helicopters and six boats were reportedly involved in the search efforts.
The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command stated that the Osprey was engaged in a routine training mission. The coast guard received an emergency call from a fishing boat reporting the crash, initially stating that there were eight people on board, a figure later revised to six before the U.S. defense official confirmed that eight airmen were indeed on the aircraft. the small southern
Japanese national broadcaster NHK broadcasted video from a helicopter, revealing a coast guard vessel at the crash site with a bright orange inflatable life raft visible on the water, though unoccupied.
According to NHK, an eyewitness reported observing the left engine of the aircraft on fire before it crashed approximately 600 miles southwest of Tokyo, off the east coast of Yakushima.
The Kagoshima regional government provided additional details, stating that the Osprey was flying alongside another aircraft of the same type, and the second aircraft managed to land safely on Yakushima island.