16 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Japanese Army, known as the Japan Self-Defense Forces, has found five bodies in deep water during a search for a military helicopter missing from radar while flying near the island of Miyokajima in the waters of the South China Sea. An important part of the helicopter has also been discovered.
The helicopter is believed to have crashed after disappearing from radar shortly after taking off from a base on the island of Miyako on April 6, the Kiodo news agency reported.
A source from the Ministry of Defense confirmed to this same agency that the helicopter – with at least two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members on board – was carrying out surveillance activities.
Nothing more was known about the disappearance, four patrol boats from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Coast Guard searched for the helicopter in the vicinity of the island of Miyokajima, in the Okinawa prefecture, located in the southwest of Japan and near the island of Taiwan.
That same day, the Japanese authorities confirmed to the aforementioned outlet that the Coast Guard apparently found pieces of a helicopter rotor about five kilometers from an island near Miyokajima. The Army also reported the discovery of a possible oil slick floating on the sea surface.
