The US military assumes that all eight people on board the military plane that disappeared off the coast of Japan are dead. The search is still ongoing for the remains of two passengers, but they are unlikely to be alive. US President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed their condolences.
The plane disappeared off Yakushima Island on Wednesday. The bodies of three passengers were recovered, the bodies of three others were found, and the other two are still missing. The search is now no longer a rescue mission but a recovery operation.
Defense Secretary Austin said that more information was being collected about the circumstances of the incident, and said that he would conduct a “close and comprehensive” investigation. Biden called it a “horrible accident” and added that “our entire country is mourning this tragic loss.”
The missing plane was an Osprey, which can fly like a regular plane, but also like a helicopter. This type is controversial in Japan, because fatal accidents occur often. Following this incident, the Japanese Defense Minister asked the United States if the plane could remain on the ground, but it is unclear to what extent the United States is prepared to do so.
At the end of August, three American soldiers were also killed when a plane of the same type crashed off the coast of Australia during army training.
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