A US military helicopter crashed at an American base on the southern island of Okinawa, Japanese and US officials said on Monday.
A HH-60 rescue helicopter crashed in a training area at Camp Hansen with four crew members on board, the US Air Force said in a statement. The status of the crew members is unknown, it said.
The helicopter, which belongs to Okinawa’s Kadena Air Base, was on an unspecified training mission, the statement said. It said the cause of the crash was not known.
Television footage showed smoke rising from a spot in the forest, although it was unclear whether the aircraft was on fire.
Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that he was told that three of the four crew members on board survived, with a fourth person missing. He said no other details, including the condition of the crew members, were immediately known.
Okinawa prefectural police said there were no reports of injuries or damage outside the base.