Two US warplanes have plummeted into the ocean after crashing in skies off the coast of Japan.
A search mission was under way after the planes went off radar after taking off from a Marine Corps air station in Iwakuni.
One of the aircraft was a F/A-18 fighter jet and the other was a KC-130 refuelling plane, officials said.
A combined total of seven people were on board the planes.
One of the crew members is said to be in a stable condition after being found by Japanese rescuers, the other six remained missing.
The aircraft were conducting regularly scheduled training when there was a "mishap," the Marine Corps said.
Japanese search and rescue aircraft immediately responded to aid in recovery efforts, it added.
