TOKYO: A missing Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members is believed to have crashed into the sea off a southern island after objects appearing to be air-craft parts were spotted in the area, an official has said.
The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on Thursday after-noon while on a reconnaissance mission north of Miyako island, the head of the Ground Self Defense Force, Yasunori Morishita, said at a news conference. Debris believed to be aircraft parts was spotted in the area, about 1,800km (1,120 miles) southwest of Tokyo, he said.
The government is aggressively building up its defence capability in southwest-ern Japan in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including Taiwan.
Kyodo News said Japanese coast guard ships also found traces of oil that may be related to the missing helicopter, but officials declined to confirm the report.
Morishita said the helicopter was stationed at a key regional army base in Ku-mamoto prefecture on the southern main island of Kyushu, and one of its 10 crew members is the division commander, Yuichi Sakamoto.
“To rescue everyone who was on board as soon as possible, we will continue to do our utmost … using the vessels and aircraft of the maritime and air self-defence forces, as well as coastguard patrol ships,” he said.
Chinese navy vessels travelling to the Pacific Ocean from the East China Sea of-ten pass close to Miyakojima, which has hosted GSDF mobile anti-ship missile launchers since 2019.
In the past four days, amid growing tension about a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, at least three Chinese warships have sailed past the island. The government is aggressively building up its defence capability in southwest-ern Japan in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including Taiwan. –Agencies
