A second crew member has been found in the Pacific Ocean near Japan where two Marine Corps aircraft collided while refueling in mid-air early Thursday during a training exercise, a Marine Corps spokesman confirmed to Fox News, as five others still remain missing.
The second person was found about 60 miles south of Muroto Cape on Shikoku Island in southwestern Japan, the Maritime Self-Defense Force said.
One of those rescued is in fair condition, while the other is currently being evaluated at a local hospital, the spokesman said.
The Marines said an F/A-18 fighter jet and a KC-130 refueling aircraft collided and crashed during training around 2 a.m. after the planes took off from their base in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima. The crash occurred about 200 miles off the coast.
“As to what was taking place when the mishap occurred, that is under investigation,” Maj. Eric Flanagan, the Marines spokesman, told reporters.
Search and rescue operations continue for a KC-130 and an F/A-18 that were involved in a mishap off of the coast of Japan around 2:00 a.m. Dec. 6.
The circumstances of the mishap are currently under investigation.
Media can contact @IIIMEF at IIIMEFMEDIA@usmc.mil.
— U.S. Marines (@USMC) December 5, 2018
The seven crew members involved in the incident included two in the F/A-18 and five in the KC-130, and the Marines are conducting a search operation for those who are still missing.
The crash is the latest in recent series of accidents involving the U.S. military deployed to and near Japan.
Last month, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan crashed into the sea southwest of Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, though its two pilots were rescued safely. In mid-October, a MH-60 Seahawk also belonging to the Ronald Reagan crashed off the Philippine Sea shortly after takeoff, causing non-fatal injuries to a dozen sailors.
More than 50,000 U.S. troops are based in Japan under the bilateral security pact.
