F-18 jet and tanker crash in mid-air during refuelling near Japan – The Independent

Two US Marine jets have collided off the coast of Japan during refuelling, and search and rescue efforts are underway.

The crash was announced by the United States Marine Corps, which indicated that Japanese search and rescue jets responded immediately to the incident.

The incident involved an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet made by McDonnell Douglass, and a KC-130, a refuelling plane with propellers made by Lockheed Martin.

“Search and rescue operations continue for US Marine aircraft that were involved in a mishap off of the coast of Japan around 2.00 am Dec 6,” a Marine Corps news release said.

“The aircraft involved in the mishap had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred,” according to the release. “Japanese search and rescue aircraft immediately responded to aid in recovery”.

It is not clear how many crew were on the planes when they collided, or the condition of those who were on board during the crash.

The crash follows after two US Navy servicemen were killed earlier this year in March when an F/A-18 Hornet crashed off the coast of Key West, Florida.

During that incident both of the servicemen managed to eject before the plane crashed, but they were both pronounced dead later on.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available