TOKYO, Nov 29 (Portal) – A U.S. military plane with eight people on board crashed into the sea in western Japan on Wednesday. Fishermen reported three people were found, but their condition was unknown.
The Coast Guard said it had sent patrol boats and aircraft to the area where the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey crashed off Yakushima island.
Fishing boats in the area found three people in the surrounding waters, a representative from a local fishing cooperative said.
The crash occurred near the island’s airport, where another osprey landed successfully on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman for the prefectural government said.
US forces in the region are still gathering information, a spokesman said.
The crash occurred just before 3 p.m. (06:00 GMT). Witnesses said the plane’s left engine appeared to burn as it descended, media reported.
The plane disappeared from radar at 2:40 p.m. local time, said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.
The aircraft, which can fly like both a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft, is operated by the U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy and Japan Self-Defense Forces.
The Osprey’s use in Japan was controversial and critics said it was prone to accidents. The US military and Japan say it is safe.
In August, a U.S. Osprey crashed off the coast of northern Australia while transporting troops during a routine military exercise, killing three U.S. Marines.
In December 2016, the plane crash-landed in the sea off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, leading to a temporary grounding of the plane by the US military.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tim Kelly and Satoshi Sugiyama; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by David Dolan, Gerry Doyle and Nick Macfie
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