Eight of the crew and passengers on a US Navy plane that crashed off Japan en route to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier have been found but it's unclear if they're alive.
Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters the C-2 aircraft crashed into the Pacific about 150km northwest of Okinotorishima, a Japanese atoll. It was taking part in an ongoing joint US-Japan naval exercise.
The minister said it he had no information on their condition.
The US Navy says the aircraft was carrying 11 crew and passengers.
Onodera said the US Navy had informed him the crash may have been a result of engine trouble.
The propeller powered transport plane, a C-2 Greyhound, carries personnel, mail and other cargo from mainland bases to carriers operating at sea.
The names of the crew and passengers are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
The 7th Fleet has had two fatal accidents in Asian waters this year, leaving 17 sailors dead and prompting the removal of eight top Navy officers from their posts, including the 7th Fleet commander.
The USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore in August, leaving 10 US sailors dead. Seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided off Japan.
The Navy concluded that the collisions were avoidable and resulted from widespread failures by the crews and commanders, who didn't quickly recognise and respond to unfolding emergencies.
