Body Parts Found, Possibly of Missing ASDF Plane Crew Member

   Tokyo, May 16 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Friday that body parts possibly of a missing crew member of a Self-Defense Force trainer jet that crashed into Lake Iruka in central Japan have been found.
   The discovered body parts were heavily damaged, he told a press conference.
   Since the Air SDF's T-4 aircraft crashed into the agricultural reservoir in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, the SDF has been conducting an around-the-clock mission involving over 600 members to search for missing Capt. Takuji Ioka, 31, and 1st Lt. Shota Amitani, 29, of the 5th Air Wing in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki.
   On Wednesday, the T-4 aircraft took off from the ASDF's Komaki base in the Aichi city of Komaki at 3:06 p.m. for the Nyutabaru base in Miyazaki.
   The aircraft, however, disappeared from the radar around 3:08 p.m. while flying near Inuyama about 13 kilometers northeast of the Komaki base.

(2025/05/16-22:03)

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