Late in the evening of April 20, two helicopters crashed in the Pacific Ocean SH-60K helicopters of the Japanese Navy. This was reported by Kyodo News on April 21 with reference to Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kiharu.
The incident occurred when the aircraft were participating in night anti-submarine training.
The helicopters were in the water for approx. 270 km from the Izu group of islands (south of Tokyo).
Kihara noted that the SH-60Ks likely collided with each other. At the same time, the difference in time when contact with them disappeared was 26 minutes.
There were four crew members on board each of the helicopters. One person died, the remaining seven are considered missing.
Admiral of the Japanese army Re Sakai said that after the accident, the SH-60K flight, manufactured by the company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., was stopped and a commission was established to find out the causes of the plane crash.
Violations in the equipment of the two helicopters that later crashed were not registered, Sakai stressed. The water depth in the area of the accident reaches approximately 5,500 m.