06 April 2016•Update: 14 April 2016
TOKYO
Japan’s defense minister confirmed Friday that the bodies of all six crew members on board a military jet that disappeared earlier this week have been recovered.
Gen Nakatani said that none of the victims found among the aircraft wreckage on a mountain in southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture showed any vital signs.
"It is extremely regrettable and sad that competent crew members with a bright future ahead became involved in such an accident," Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying.
The 15-meter-long twin-engine U-125 disappeared from radar Wednesday afternoon while flying north of an air base in Kanoya city.
Nakatani said the wreckage, which was discovered across an area of 200 to 300 meters, suggested that the jet had crashed on Mount Takakuma.
He assured that the ministry will investigate the cause of the incident and do its best to try to prevent future accidents.
The country’s meteorological agency had earlier reported there was thick cloud cover above the base at the time of the aircraft’s disappearance.
In Feb. 2015, a Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter crashed on a mountain in neighboring Miyazaki Prefecture after leaving the Kanoya base, leaving three people dead.
