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22 July 2012 12:30 HKT | Tokyo Japan | Reuters


Breaking News

TOKYO -- A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast
of northern Japan on Sunday and efforts were underway to rescue the pilot, a
spokeswoman for the Misawa Air Base said.

The jet took off from the U.S. air base in Aomori and crashed about 11:30 Japan
time (10:30 ET) some 200 miles northeast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost
island, the spokesperson said.



"One person, the pilot, was on board. Efforts are currently underway to retrieve
the pilot," she said, reading from a statement.

"The aircraft was en-route to North America when the incident occurred. The cause
of the incident is unknown at this time."