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Seven injured as US military helicopter crashes off Okinawa | Seven injured as US military helicopter crashes off Okinawa |
(35 minutes later) | |
A US army helicopter has crashed during a training exercise while landing on a navy ship off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, injuring seven people and damaging the aircraft. | |
The H-60 helicopter made a hard landing on the cargo vessel USNS Red Cloud about 20 miles east of Okinawa, US Forces Japan said in a statement, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation. Okinawa is home to most of the tens of thousands of US troops in Japan. | |
The injured were transported to a navy hospital, the statement said. Their conditions were not immediately clear. | The injured were transported to a navy hospital, the statement said. Their conditions were not immediately clear. |
The other 10 people aboard the helicopter were not hurt, the Japanese coastguard said. | The other 10 people aboard the helicopter were not hurt, the Japanese coastguard said. |
Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed video of the helicopter sitting on the cargo ship, with its tail broken off and covered with an orange tarp. | Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed video of the helicopter sitting on the cargo ship, with its tail broken off and covered with an orange tarp. |
The presence of thousands of US troops on Okinawa – where more than half of about 50,000 American troops in Japan are concentrated – has been a source of friction between the two countries. A plan formulated in 1996 between the Japanese and American governments would move US Marine Air Station Futenma from a populated neighbourhood to a less developed area, but Okinawans worried about safety, crime and noise want the base moved off the island altogether. | |
Wednesday’s accident coincided with a visit to the island by Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, for talks with the Okinawa governor, Takeshi Onaga, a vocal opponent of the relocation plan. | |
“For those who live near [US] bases, it’s a serious matter,” he said at the outset of the talks, reminding Suga of Okinawa’s burden and the risk associated with accommodating the US military bases. |