Six US marines were missing after two American military aircraft crashed on Thursday during a refuelling operation off the coast of Japan, officials from both countries told AFP.
The two planes -- an F-18 fighter and a C-130 tanker -- were involved in a "mishap about 200 miles off of the coast of Japan around 2:00 am" according to a statement from the US Marines in Japan.
A US defence official told AFP that there had been a crash after the plane took off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan.
A spokesman for Japan's Self-Defence Forces said one of the airmen had been rescued but the immediate fate of the remaining crew members was unclear.
The crew member was being assessed by doctors, the Marine statement said, adding that "the search and rescue operations continue for the remaining six."
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