Divers find wreckage, five remains from Osprey aircraft that crashed off Japan

TOKYO (AP) — US and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and the remains of five crew members from a US Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off southwestern Japan, the Air Force announced Monday.

The CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American personnel crashed last Wednesday off Yakushima island during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier.

The Air Force Special Operations Command said two of the five newly located remains have been recovered but their identities have yet to be determined. The joint US-Japanese search operation is still working to recover the remains of three other crew members from the wreckage, it said.

The search is continuing for the two people who are still missing, it said.

"The main priority is bringing the Airmen home and taking care of their family members. Support to, and the privacy of, the families and loved ones impacted by this incident remains AFSOC's top priority," it said in a statement.

The US military identified the one confirmed victim as Air Force Staff Sergeant Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday.

Japanese coast guard officials say the ocean is about 30 meters (100 feet) deep around the crash site.

The US-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.

Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at US and Japanese military bases, and the latest accident has rekindled safety concerns.

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