TOKYO, April 16 (Xinhua) — Five our bodies had been discovered Sunday following a deep-sea dive searching for the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) helicopter that went lacking off the southern prefecture of Okinawa, native media reported.
On the ocean flooring at a depth of 106 meters off the southern prefecture of Okinawa, the our bodies had been discovered by divers round 8:30 a.m. native time six kilometers north of Irabu Island, Japanese news company Kyodo reported, citing GSDF.
On April 6, the UH-60JA multipurpose chopper disappeared from radar about 18 km northwest of an airport in Okinawa’s Miyakojima Island, and was believed to have been caught up in an plane accident.
All 10 GSDF members on board went lacking, together with Lieutenant General Yuichi Sakamoto, commander of the GSDF’s eighth Division answerable for the protection of southwestern Japan.
The discovery got here after a deep-sea search made by saturation diving, a method that enables divers to work at nice depths for lengthy durations, and whether or not the our bodies are these of the personnel aboard the UH-60JA helicopter remained unconfirmed, in line with the Kyodo report.
The GSDF has confirmed that the foremost a part of the chopper was earlier found beneath the ocean.
Efforts can be stepped up within the salvage work, the GSDF added.