A U.S. Military helicopter has crashed into the sea of the coast of Okinawa, Japan.
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The injured were transported to a Navy hospital, the statement said.
National broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency said a total of 17 crew members were on board when the accident occurred some 30km east of the US Kadena airbase in Japan’s southernmost Okinawa islands. The conditions of the injured were not immediately known, he said.
The chopper performed a “hard-deck landing” on a U.S. military ship following which it crashed, NBC News reported, citing the U.S. Pacific Command. The U.S. Forces, Japan had no immediate comment.
A plan formulated in 1996 between the Japanese and American governments would move US Marine Air Station Futenma from a populated neighborhood to a less developed area, but Okinawans anxious about safety, crime and noise want the base moved off the island altogether.
Immediate confirmation from the US military was not available.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government would urge the US military to investigate the cause of the accident and prevent a recurrence.
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It comes a day after a U.S. fighter jet crashed in a forest in Bavaria, southern Germany.
