Marine Corps apologizes after plane part fell on Japan’s 2nd school in one week, injuring student
A student was injured this time.
?? – For the second time in less than a week, a part of a US military aircraft has fallen on a school in Okinawa, Japan.
A window from a Marine CH-53E helicopter fell on the athletic field of Daini Futenma Elementary School near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma at around 10:09 a.m. this morning, 1st Lt. Karoline Foote, spokesperson for First Marine Aircraft Wing, confirmed to ABC News.
The Japanese school is located in the southern Okinawa prefecture. The helicopter crew immediately returned to MCAS Futenma and reported the incident, Foote said.
About 50 students were on the ground when the plane’s window fell, city education officials told NHK News, a Japanese public broadcaster. A boy suffered minor injuries after being struck by gravel that was lifted when the window hit the ground, the Associated Press reported.
Police said the helicopter window is about 35 inches wide, 33 inches long and weighs about 17 pounds, NHK News reported.
The window would have landed about 10 meters from where the students were playing.
“We take this report very seriously and are investigating the cause of this incident in close coordination with local authorities,” Foote said. “For safety reasons and to preserve the site for investigation, we ask the community to stay away from the object landing site. This is an unfortunate incident and we apologize for the anxiety this has caused to the community. “
The incident is “inexcusable,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference today.
The incident angered residents of Okinawa, six days after a cylindrical object fell on the roof of a preschool from a US military plane passing overhead. There were no injuries and the Marine Corps is also investigating this incident.
