Two Japanese navy helicopters crash, leaving one dead and seven missing

Two Japanese navy helicopters with eight crew members crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Tokyo during a training flight at night. It’s possible they collided with each other. The defense minister of Japan said this on Sunday. One person from the crew was found in the water and died. Rescuers are still looking for seven others who are missing.

The two SH-60K helicopters from the Maritime Self Defence Force had four crew members on board each. They lost contact near Torishima island, which is about 600 kilometers south of Tokyo. Defence Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters about this on Saturday.

“We don’t know why the crash happened yet, but it’s possible that the two helicopters ran into each other before they crashed into the water,” Kihara explained.

Rescuers found a device that records flight data, a piece from each helicopter’s blade, and some broken parts that are thought to be from both helicopters in the same place. This indicates that the two helicopters were flying near each other, Kihara explained. Authorities will study the information from the flight to find out what caused the plane to crash.

The MSDF sent eight warships and five aircraft to look for the missing crew and help them if they need it.

The helicopters called Seahawks were made by Sikorsky and then changed and built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They were practicing finding and stopping submarines at night in the ocean, Kihara said. One person lost their contact at 10:38 pm and a minute later, they sent an automatic emergency signal.

Only one signal for help was heard. This shows that the two helicopters were close to each other because their signals were on the same frequency and couldn’t be told apart, according to Kihara.

One was from an air base in Nagasaki, and the other was from a base in Tokushima prefecture.

The SH-60K helicopter is often used on warships to find and attack submarines.

On Saturday, only the Japanese navy did training. It was not part of a training with other countries, according to defence officials. They said they didn’t see any aircraft or warships from other countries in the area.

Japan is making its military stronger by building up its forces in the islands in the Pacific and East China Sea. They are doing this to protect themselves from China’s growing military actions. In the past few years, Japan has done a lot of practice with its navy, both by itself and with the United States and other friends.

A helicopter crashed last Saturday, one year after another helicopter crashed and killed all 10 crew members off the coast of Miyako island in Japan. In January 2022, a military plane crashed into the sea near the middle of Japan, and two people on board died.

NHK public television in Japan said they did not warn about the weather in the area at the time of Saturday’s crash.