Tokyo: Two helicopters of the Japanese army crashed into the sea during a training flight. A total of 7 officers were on board.
According to the World News Agency, Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara said that the helicopters that were involved in the accident were conducting anti-submarine warfare exercises at night. The wreckage of the helicopters was found floating on the sea.
There were no ships or fighter jets in the sea area where the accident took place, so it is unlikely that any other country was involved in the destruction of the helicopters.
A spokesman for Japan’s Self-Defense Force (SDF) confirmed that two helicopters had sunk in the sea and said that only one officer could be pulled out from the sea and died during treatment.
The Japan Self-Defense Force statement added that seven officers and personnel were on board the helicopters that were destroyed in the accident on Izo Island.
The statement added that rescue operations are underway to find more people, but hope of finding anyone alive has been lost. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. An inquiry committee was constituted for the investigation.
It should be remembered that a total of 18 officers and personnel were killed in a helicopter and plane crash of the Japanese army in April and November last year, while similar incidents occurred in 2022 and 2019.
