Last Updated Nov 22, 2017 3:01 AM EST
A United States Navy aircraft with 11 crew members and passengers on board crashed into the ocean southeast of Okinawa, Japan, on Wednesday, the 7th Fleet says.
The aircraft was headed to the U.S. aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan, which is deployed to the Philippine Sea.
The carrier is conducting search and rescue operations, the 7th Fleet says.
Japan’s NHK news agency reports 8 people have been rescued so far. There was no word on their condition.
NHK says the aircraft was a C2 transport plane.
September 2017 file photo shows aircraft carrier U.S.S. Ronald Reagan
AP
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known.
The names of the crew and passengers were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
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