The US Marine Corps said Wednesday that the US McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and Lockheed Martin KC-130 aerial refuel tanker had departed Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and had been operating according to the regularly scheduled refueling training when they had collided.
The Kyodo news agency reported that Kazuhiro Suzuki, the director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau, had asked Lt. Gen. Jerry Martinez, the commander of the US Forces Japan, to find out the reasons behind the crash and share the information on the accident with the Japanese authorities as soon as possible.
According to the ABC News broadcaster, citing military officials, one of the seven crew members has been rescued by the Japanese authorities, while six others remain missing as the search-and-rescue operation is underway.
