Japan's coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island.
The coast guard said it received information that a Ground Self-Defence Force UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on a mission on Thursday evening near Miyako island.
It said four patrol ships are participating in the search but have not found any traces of the missing aircraft.
NHK Japan reported the helicopter had 10 people on board and it was flying near the island of Miyakojima in Okinawa Prefecture when it vanished from radar at around 4.33pm on Thursday.
According to reports, the helicopter belongs to a unit in Kumamoto Prefecture. The helicopter took off from Miyakojima before 4pm and was scheduled to return to the island after 5pm, NHK reported.
(With PTI inputs.)
