A US military CV-22 Osprey aircraft with eight people on board has crashed into the ocean in western Japan.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense says the transport plane went down near Yakushima island in the Kagoshima prefecture on Wednesday.
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At around 2:47PM local time, Kagoshima police received a report from a fishing boat of an Osprey with one of its engines on fire near Yakushima Airport.
The aircraft belonged to Yokota Air Base and was on its way to Kadena in Okinawa from Iwakuni, but changed course towards Yakushima before going down in the sea.
The Japanese coast guard is heading to the site for search and rescue operations, officials said.
Spokesperson Kazuo Ogawa added that there are no further details of the incident, including the status of those onboard.
The Osprey, which is a tiltrotor aircraft that can function as a helicopter and a turboprop aircraft, is operated by the US Marines, US Navy and the Japan Self Defence Forces.
Anti-base protesters in Japan often argue that it is a dangerous aircraft which is prone to accidents.
In August, three US Marines were killed…
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