Tokyo: Japanese Rescue crews have found what are believed to be several bodies off the coast of the Japanese southern prefecture of Okinawa in the area where a Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) helicopter went missing last week, the Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing a government source.
On April 6, a UH-60JA military helicopter of the SDF with 10 soldiers aboard disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a military base on Miyako Island.
According to the report, a body and a part of the helicopter were found on Thursday night. An underwater camera showed severe damage to a part of the helicopter, which was found near Irabu Island, and other derbies were found on the coast of the island.
The cause of the helicopter’s crash is still unknown, the report said. According to officials, air traffic control centers in the area did not receive a distress signal from the helicopter’s emergency locator transmitter, which should have been triggered automatically on impact.
The SDF and the Japan Coast Guard have been searching for the helicopter and the crew around the clock using minesweepers, submarine rescue vessels, aircraft, and patrol vessels, the report said.
