The eight military men who were on board on an Osprey aircraft of the US military, which crashed into the sea on November 29 off southwestern Japan, are now all presumed dead, the US Air Force announced Tuesday.

Authorities have found six bodies, including five on Monday, but rescue operations are no longer underway as it is “not likely” any survivors will be found, the US Air Force Special Operations Command said in a statement.

“Of the eight soldiers, the bodies of three have been collected, another three are now being collected and the bodies of two soldiers remain to be found,” he clarified.

THE Joe Biden and his wife they said they “pray for the families and loved ones of those who lost a loved one in this terrible accident,” said a statement from the US president, which incidentally thanked Japan for its assistance.

“Our military and their families are the backbone of our nation,” he added.

In a statement, the Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin it says it is “deeply saddened” and assures that a “full and thorough investigation” will be carried out to clarify the circumstances of the accident.

Questions about aircraft

Ospreys are military aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. Recent accidents have raised questions about their reliability.

That aircraft, carrying eight people, crashed into the sea last Wednesday, not far from Yakushima — during a training mission. The US military has nearly 54,000 troops stationed in Japan.

At the end of August, three US Marines were killed in an accident with such aircraft in northern Australia and, in 2022, four more were killed in Norway when their aircraft, also an Osprey, crashed during NATO exercises.

Japan suspended flights of its own Osprey after Wednesday’s plane crash, and asked the US military toa is proactively doing the same in Japanese territory.