(UTV|COLOMBO) – Six US Marines were missing following a still-unexplained mishap off the coast of Japan on Thursday involving two US Marine Corps aircraft, which may have collided mid-air during a refuelling exercise gone wrong, US officials said.
Japan’s defence ministry said that its maritime forces had so far rescued one of the seven Marines who were aboard the two aircraft at the time of the incident. Search and rescue efforts were ongoing, US and Japanese officials said.
The rescued person had been on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet, and was in a stable condition at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference.
“The incident is regrettable, but our focus at the moment is on search and rescue,” he said. “Japan will respond appropriately once the details of the incident are uncovered.”
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