The US Marines announced last that the five crew members of the fighter planes that crashed near Japan were declared dead and the search for them has ended.

One Marine was drawn alive from the water, as was the body of another soldier.

The F/A-18 fighter plane and refueling plane that took off from the Okinawa base for a pre-planned training mission crashed last week off the coast of Japan.

Recently, a series of accidents occurred during US military operations in the Japan area.

Last month, an F/A-18 crashed from the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan into the sea but its pilots were safely recovered. In mid-October an MH-60 Seahawk from the same carrier crashed near the Philippines. 12 sailors were injured.

F/A-18
F/A-18צילום: רויטרס