<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Japan's army found wreckage and five bodies Sunday during a deep-sea search for crew on board a helicopter that disappeared from radar earlier this month, an army spokesman said.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The aircraft with 10 people on board had been on a reconnaissance mission when it went missing on April 6, in what the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) described as an "aerial accident".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two pilots, two mechanics and six crew members were on board the UH-60JA, including a GSDF general from the 8th division.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The newly found wreckage appeared to be from the missing helicopter, but there were no details yet on the identities of the bodies retrieved, the army spokesman said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There are still five left undiscovered, so search and rescue operations are underway simultaneously," the spokesman told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Coastguard rescuers had already discovered several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the helicopter, including a door, a snapped blade and a yellow life raft that was still packed inside a bag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There has been no indication of what caused the apparent accident.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Japan's military, which is limited to ostensibly defensive activity by the country's post-war constitution, has seen occasional accidents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In January 2022, a Japanese fighter jet crashed in waters off central Ishikawa region, killing two pilots on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And in 2019, an F-35A stealth jet crashed into the sea, after taking off from northeastern Japan on a training mission. The accident sparked a scramble to recover the pilot and secrets on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Japan's defence ministry subsequently said the pilot, who died in the crash, appeared to have suffered spatial disorientation. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>