Eight rescued after US Navy plane carrying 11 crashes in Pacific

Eight people were rescued on Wednesday after a U.S. Navy plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Japan.

The plane was carrying 11 people, according to the Navy, and rescue crews have so far managed to rescue eight in “good condition.”

Search and rescue operations are underway for the other three.

The Navy transporter plane went down in the ocean just southeast of Okinawa as it was en route to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in the Philippine Sea, where it was operating as part of a military exercise with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.

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The names of the crew members are currently being withheld, but the Navy said an investigation into the incident would be conducted.

President Trump commented on the situation Wednesday morning tweeting that the administration is “monitoring the situation.” 

“The @USNavy is conducting search and rescue following aircraft crash. We are monitoring the situation. Prayers for all involved,” Trump tweeted.

The crash is the fifth in a string of incidents involving the 7th Fleet since January. Those incidents include two collisions involving guided missile destroyers that left 17 U.S. sailors dead. 

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the head of the 7th Fleet, was relieved of duty in August. 

– This report was updated at 8:04 a.m. EST