On Thursday, a UH-60JA helicopter, also known as a Black Hawk, belonging to the Japanese military went missing with ten people on board. Later, the helicopter's wreckage was discovered, confirming that it fell into the sea.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that rescuers were looking for the dead and any survivors in the waters off southern Japan. Chief of Staff of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), Gen. Yasunori Morishita, stated that two pilots, two mechanics, and six passengers, including Lt. A prominent GSDF commander, Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto.
In addition, he stated that rescuers are still looking for survivors and that the UH-60JA helicopter's parts appeared to be in the water. If there are no survivors, the crash is one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in Japan since 1995, according to Aviation Safety Network. At around 3.55 p.m. on Thursday, the Black Hawk, a twin-engine UH-60 helicopter with four blades, vanished from radar near Okinawa's Miyakojima Island.
According to the military, the helicopter, which was made famous by the movie of the same name, disappeared from radar shortly after taking off to survey nearby land features. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo, "We are putting maximum priority on human life and rescue operations." At 5:05 p.m., the helicopter was supposed to return to Miyako Island. The military officer also said that a lifeboat with GSDF signs on it was folded and empty.
Oil and items including what could be important for a rotor cutting edge were found in the ocean region where the mishap is accepted to have happened, as per the Japan Coast Watchman who dispatched watch boats to local waters in look for the helicopter.
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