US military finds several bodies after plane crash off Japan

The US military said Monday that it retrieved five bodies after one of its aircraft crashed off the southern coast of Japan last week. 

"The dive teams were able to confirm five additional crew members from the original team of eight that were involved in the crash," Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) said in a statement.

Japanese rescuers are assisting with the recovery operations. 

Last week just hours after the crash, remains of one of the other crew members had also been found by Japanese responders, with that person having been confirmed dead. 

Japanese authorities had initially said that eight people were on board the plane, but they revised the figure later during the day of the crash to six. 

Search for last 2 missing personnel is still ongoing

The search for the last two personnel who are missing is still ongoing, the US military said.  

"The main priority is bringing the Airmen home and taking care of their family members. Support to, and the privacy of, the families and loved ones impacted by this incident remains AFSOC's top priority," the statement added.  

The CV-22 Osprey military aircraft had departed from US Marine Corps Station Iwakumi in southern Japan and was heading further south to the Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.

Although Japanese authorities are able to retrieve the debris of the plane, they are not allowed to keep it for research purposes. Under the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement, Japan must hand over the wreckage to the US, making an independent Japanese probe of the crash practically impossible to carry out.  

The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft between a helicopter and plane. 

US refuses to ground all Osprey flights despite Japanese request

The incident on November 29 prompted the Japanese military to stop flyng the US-made plane pending safety checks, with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara also calling on the US to halt Osprey flights. 

The US, meanwhile, has brushed off this request from Japan and said only the CV-22 variant of the Osprey will stop flying. 

"The unit of the CV-22 that had the accident is not conducting flight operations. All V22 Ospreys in Japan operate only after undergoing thorough maintenance and safety checks," US Department of Defense Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said last week. 

The US military is still flying the MV-22, which serves as the Marine variant of the Osprey. 

The Osprey has crashed on several other occasions before. 

In August, an MV-22 crashed in northern Australia, leaving three Marines dead. Another crash in the southwestern US state of Arizona during training exercises left 19 Marines dead in 2000. 

wd/nm (AP, AFP, dpa)