US military chopper ditches into Sea of Japan

A U.S. military helicopter crashed off the Japanese island of Okinawa on Wednesday, injuring six people, NBC News reported.

The injured were transported to a Navy hospital, the statement said. The extent of the injuries is not known at this time.

The Associated Press says that the helicopter was a U.S. Army UH-60, and it went down approximately 20 miles east of Kadena Air Base.

Images broadcast by the Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed the helicopter, with its rear rotor severed, on board what appears to be a cargo vessel.

The presence of thousands of U.S. troops on Okinawa – where more than half of about 50,000 American troops in Japan are concentrated – has been a source of friction.

Japanese officials were informed of the crash at 2:59 p.m., when U.S. military officials called to request a search-and-rescue team.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government would urge the US military to investigate the cause of the accident and prevent a recurrence.

Since the island prefecture reverted to Japanese control in 1972, there have been 45 crashes involving U.S. military aircraft, according to Okinawan government statistics.