Early this month, a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter based in Kumamoto Prefecture crashed off the coast of Irabu Island in the Miyako Island group in Okinawa Prefecture. All 10 SDF members on board are believed to have been killed.
Despite frantic efforts by the SDF, Japan Coast Guard and local fishermen to locate survivors, they were unsuccessful, although parts of the UH60JA helicopter were found. On April 13, a week after the crash, the Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Etajima located the main section of the helicopter. At the time of this writing, five of the missing had been found and confirmed dead and the search for the other members continues.
Due to the depths of the surrounding waters, the recovery of the well-regarded aircraft, which will help solve the mystery of what happened, may be challenging, however.