TOKYO — A US Army helicopter crashed while landing on a Navy ship during training Wednesday off Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, injuring six people and damaging the aircraft, officials said.
The H-60 helicopter made a hard landing on the USNS Red Cloud cargo vessel about 20 miles east of Okinawa, US Forces Japan said in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation. Okinawa is home to most of the tens of thousands of US troops in Japan.
The injured were transported to a Navy hospital, the statement said. Their conditions were not available.
Two of the six injured belong to a Japanese special response unit called the Central Readiness Force, who were participating in the training, according to Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. One had a broken bone and the other a cut, but no specifics were given.
Japan and the United States are strengthening military cooperation as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government tries to bolster Japan’s defense role.
Ten other people aboard the helicopter were not hurt, said Japanese Coast Guard spokesman Shinya Terada.