Rescue Team Under Search Operations after Two Helicopters Collided
Two Japanese navy helicopters, each one carrying eight members, crashed into the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese defense minister said on Sunday. The Two Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) helicopters collided with another after conducting night training in the Izu Island, causing one dead and seven missing after the incident. The search team is underway with the rescue operation till Sunday.
The area in which the two military helicopters occurred is too remote from the city of Tokyo- which would make it difficult to search the bodies of the crew members. It is about 600 km away from the capital city of Tokyo.
The Japanese Defense minister once said, “The rescuers spotted the place and believed the two helicopters crashed”. Hours after the operation, Kihara told the local reporter that “one crew member rescued died”.
The U.S. The Ambassador to Japan has said that the United States has given a helping hand to Japan in searching for the missing.
The ambassador said,“ We are side by side with our ally Japan. My thoughts to the families and friends of the crew members in this challenging time”.
The Japanese military has ramped up the training and coast guards in recent years over the Chinese operations in the sea and skies near the country.
Tokyo has been concerned about the imminent attack from China on the democratic Island of Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province that must be reunified by the Chinese mainland by force if necessary.