Reports emerged on the afternoon of the 29th stating that a U.S. military transport aircraft, an “Osprey,” had crashed off the coast of Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, prompting the Japan Coast Guard to dispatch patrol ships and aircraft to the scene.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, a helicopter sent for the search spotted what appeared to be debris resembling the aircraft’s wreckage around 4 p.m.
A spokesperson for U.S. forces in the region said they were still gathering information about the incident.
The Japanese Defense Ministry sources indicate that the crashed aircraft is a CV-22 Osprey, with eight people on board, stationed at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo.
According to Yakushima Town officials, reports from Kagoshima Prefecture specify that the incident occurred off the east coast of Yakushima, near the Anbo district.
Information received from Kagoshima Prefecture’s police department states that a report was made to emergency services at approximately 2:37 p.m., stating, “An Osprey, emitting flames from its left engine, made an emergency landing near Yakushima Airport.”
