Searchs Continue for Five Missing US Marines off the Coast of Japan

Japan’s Ministry of Defense has expanded its search to find five missing US Marines after two aircraft with seven crew collided mid-air and crashed into the sea Thursday.

Ariana News Agency- While a Ministry of Defense spokesperson could not disclose details of the search area, they told CNN that it was widened to account for ocean currents.
Initial rescue efforts had been complicated by storms and sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph. Japan’s Ministry of Defense said it was still raining in the area where the planes are believed to have crashed Friday morning, but conditions were good enough to continue search operations.
One Marine was rescued and was “in fair condition” Thursday, while the body of a second has been “declared deceased,” the US Marine Corps said in a statement.

The two planes — a KC-130 and F/A-18 — collided at 1:42 a.m. local time about 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the coast of Japan during an aerial refueling that was part of routine training, according to the statement. The primary mission of a KC-130 is airborne refueling.
The planes “had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred,” according to a statement from the US Marine Corps.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.