Japanese Black Hawk Helicopter with Four Crew Goes Missing

A Japanese Black Hawk military helicopter with four people on board went missing on Tuesday during a drill in the Pacific off central Japan, the defence ministry said.

The Black Hawk helicopter of the Air Self-Defence Force disappeared from radar at around 6:00 pm (0900 GMT), some 31 kilometres (19 miles) south of Hamamatsu, a ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by AFP Tuesday.

Some parts suspected to have belonged to the rescue chopper were found floating around the area, the spokesperson said, adding: “We are searching for the four crew members.”

Quoting a government source, Kyodo News said the helicopter, which was conducting a night time search-and-rescue drill, was likely to have crashed.