Japan announces the loss of a military helicopter with 10 people on board

Today, the Japanese Coast Guard announced the loss of a military helicopter carrying a crew of 10 people off an island in the south of the country, without knowing their fate yet. The Coast Guard stated, in a statement, that it had received information about the disappearance of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter belonging to the Defense Forces’ radar screens while it was out on a mission in the north of Miyako Island, where ten military personnel on board are still missing. Pointing out that the authorities have used four ships to participate in the search operations, but they have not found any traces of the missing helicopter so far. For his part, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, in statements, that the Ministry of Defense is investigating the accident, stressing that the authorities will do everything possible to save the lives of the helicopter crew. Japanese media reports, quoting military officials, indicated that the helicopter disappeared from radar about an hour after leaving its base on Miyako Island, and about half an hour before its scheduled return. In August 2018, Japan witnessed the death of nine people in a rescue helicopter crash in Gunma Prefecture, north of the capital, Tokyo.