Japan chopper accident: In the latest update to the Japanese army chopper crash, a team of rescuers allegedly found the debris on Friday. According to reports, an unused lifeboat, a door and other fragments believed to be from the Japanese army helicopter were recovered.
Speaking to the media, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that rescuers are yet to find the 10 missing crew members who were travelling in the Black Hawk.
The minister went on to say that he took the accident seriously and would take all precautions for the safe operations of Self Defence Force aircraft. “We will do our utmost for the rescue of the 10 people who are still missing while continuing to gather information related to the extent of damage,” he said.
Coast guard patrol ships found an unused lifeboat whose serial number matched that of the missing helicopter and a door believed to belong to the same aircraft near the presumed crash site, army officials said.
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About the deadly accident
On Thursday afternoon, the UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared while on a reconnaissance mission in Japan's southern islands, according to the head of the Ground Self Defence Force, Yasunori Morishita.
It disappeared from radar only 10 minutes after departing from a base on Miyako Island and is believed to have crashed into the water between Miyako and nearby Irabu Island to the northwest. The area is about 1,800 kilometres (1,120 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
According to a database maintained by the Aviation Safety Network, the crash would go down as the deadliest military aviation accident to occur in Japan since 1995 if no survivors are found.
Japan deployed Black Hawk for rapid response
It should be mentioned here that Japan is aggressively building up its defence capability in its southwestern islands in response to China's increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including near Taiwan.
According to the Defence Ministry, Japan started deploying the Black Hawk, a twin-engine, four-bladed utility helicopter developed by US manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft and produced by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, in 1999 for rapid response, surveillance and disaster relief missions.
(With inputs from agencies)
