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| Seven injured as US military helicopter crashes off Okinawa | Seven injured as US military helicopter crashes off Okinawa |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A US army helicopter has crashed during a training exercise while landing on a navy ship off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, injuring seven people and damaging the aircraft. | A US army helicopter has crashed during a training exercise while landing on a navy ship off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, injuring seven people and damaging the aircraft. |
| The H-60 helicopter made a hard landing on the cargo vessel USNS Red Cloud about 20 miles east of Okinawa, US Forces Japan said in a statement, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation. Okinawa is home to most of the tens of thousands of US troops in Japan. | The H-60 helicopter made a hard landing on the cargo vessel USNS Red Cloud about 20 miles east of Okinawa, US Forces Japan said in a statement, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation. Okinawa is home to most of the tens of thousands of US troops in Japan. |
| The injured were transported to a navy hospital, the statement said. Their conditions were not made available. | |
| Two of those injured belong to a Japanese special response unit called the Central Readiness Force, who were participating in the training, according to Japan’s Ground Self Defence Force. One had a broken bone and the other a cut, but no specifics were given. | |
| The other 10 people aboard the helicopter were not hurt, the Japanese coastguard said. | The other 10 people aboard the helicopter were not hurt, the Japanese coastguard said. |
| Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed video of the helicopter sitting on the cargo ship, with its tail broken off and covered with an orange tarp. | Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed video of the helicopter sitting on the cargo ship, with its tail broken off and covered with an orange tarp. |
| The presence of thousands of US troops on Okinawa – where more than half of about 50,000 American troops in Japan are concentrated – has been a source of friction between the two countries. A plan formulated in 1996 between the Japanese and American governments would move US Marine Air Station Futenma from a populated neighbourhood to a less developed area, but Okinawans worried about safety, crime and noise want the base moved off the island altogether. | The presence of thousands of US troops on Okinawa – where more than half of about 50,000 American troops in Japan are concentrated – has been a source of friction between the two countries. A plan formulated in 1996 between the Japanese and American governments would move US Marine Air Station Futenma from a populated neighbourhood to a less developed area, but Okinawans worried about safety, crime and noise want the base moved off the island altogether. |
| Wednesday’s accident coincided with a visit to the island by Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, for talks with the Okinawa governor, Takeshi Onaga, a vocal opponent of the relocation plan. | Wednesday’s accident coincided with a visit to the island by Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, for talks with the Okinawa governor, Takeshi Onaga, a vocal opponent of the relocation plan. |
| “For those who live near [US] bases, it’s a serious matter,” he said at the outset of the talks, reminding Suga of Okinawa’s burden and the risk associated with accommodating the US military bases. | “For those who live near [US] bases, it’s a serious matter,” he said at the outset of the talks, reminding Suga of Okinawa’s burden and the risk associated with accommodating the US military bases. |