Debris found in search for missing Japanese military helicopter

‘We have been searching near the site around the clock since the incident,’ says defence minister

A part believed to be that of the missing helicopter in the sea off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan (EPA)

Pieces of debris were recovered from the sea on Friday that are believed to be from a Japanese army helicopter that went missing with 10 crew members on board.

The UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared Thursday afternoon while on a reconnaissance mission in Japan's southern islands, the ground self defence force said.

The helicopter had taken off from a base on Okinawa prefecture’s Miyako Island before disappearing from radar just 10 minutes later. It is believed to have crashed into the water between Miyako and nearby Irabu Island to the northwest.

Defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said none of the missing crew members have been found as the extensive search operation continued on Friday.

The area is about 1,800 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The Japan Coast Guard retrieved at least 10 pieces of debris, including an unused lifeboat whose serial number matched that of the missing helicopter, a large window panel that had GSDF (Japan Ground Self-Defence Force) inscribed on it and a door believed to belong to the same aircraft near the presumed crash site.

Prime minister Fumio Kishida had said that the defence ministry is investigating and “we will do our utmost to save their lives”.

The helicopter departed from the island at 3.46pm local time to check the landscape nearby and was meant to return to the base at around 5pm.

It reportedly underwent a checkup at the end of March, according to the defence forces.

Lt Gen Yuichi Sakamoto, the commander of the GSDF’s 8th Division based in Kumamoto Prefecture – which is in charge of the defence of Kyushu – was among those onboard the aircraft, the Japan Times reported.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force personnel look out from the northern top of Irabu Island (EPA)

“We have been searching near the site around the clock since the incident but we haven’t been able to find Lt Gen Sakamoto and nine others,” the defence minister said.

Two Maritime Self-Defence Force vessels, eight aircraft and four ships have been pressed into action. Later in the day, the ministry increased the search and rescue team to 200 people from an initial group of 20.

An investigation committee has been set up to probe the cause of the incident and all other helicopters of the same type have been grounded.

Authorities are taking the possibility of a malfunction or mistake in steering the craft into consideration given the weather was stable at the time of the incident.

“We are taking it seriously that this kind of accident has happened,” chief cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

The disappearance comes at a time when Japan is aggressively beefing up its defence in the region in response to China's increasingly assertive military activity in the regional seas, where tension is also rising around Taiwan.

According to the defence ministry, Japan started deploying the Black Hawk, a twin-engine, four-bladed utility helicopter developed by US manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft and produced by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, in 1999 for rapid response, surveillance and disaster relief missions.