ISLAMABAD – Five crew members of a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter that crashedin the Philippine Sea off of Okinawa’s main island Saturday were rescuedwith the help of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, the U.S. military said lateSaturday.
The helicopter went down about 170 km east of Okinawa’s main island during“routine operations” at around 5:15 p.m., the military said.
Three were recovered by an Air Self-Defense Force UH-60 search and rescuehelicopter, and the two others were recovered by a chopper from the USSBlue Ridge fleet command ship.
All five crew members were in stable condition. Three were transported by aJapanese helicopter to Naval Hospital Okinawa for evaluation, while the twoothers were returned by U.S. Navy helicopter to the Blue Ridge.
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The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, the Blue Ridge is the flagship ofthe U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet. The amphibious command ship serves as an afloatcommand-and-control headquarters.
