Five missing US marines declared dead in Japan

The U.S. military said Tuesday that five missing crew members have been declared dead after their refueling plane collided with a fighter jet last week off Japan's southern coast and that search and recovery operations have been halted.

The five were on a KC-130 Hercules refueling aircraft that collided last Thursday with an F/A-18 Hornet during regular training. The warplanes crashed into the sea south of Japan's Shikoku island.

Two crew members in the F/A-18 were recovered after the accident, but one died. The U.S. Marines said the survivor was in stable condition when rescued.

"I have made the determination to end the search and rescue operations for the crew of our KC-130J aircraft, which was involved in a mishap off the southern coast of Japan and to declare that these Marine warriors are deceased," 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force commander Lt. Gen. Eric Smith said in a statement.

"Every possible effort was made to recover our crew and I hope the families of these selfless Americans will find comfort in the incredible efforts made by US, Japanese, and Australian forces during the search," Smith said.

The service members' next-of-kin have been notified.

"Our most valued asset is the individual Marine," Smith added. "We remain faithful to our Marines and their families as we support them through this difficult time."

The incident is still under investigation. The Marine Corps pointed to the missing KC-130's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, and said it was "premature to speculate about wreckage recovery."

The accident, which involved seven crew-members, occurred around 2 a.m. local time on December 6.

President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences after the collision and thanked Japan, who assisted in the search-and-rescue efforts

"My thoughts and prayers are with the @USMC (U.S. Marine Corps) crew members who were involved in a mid-air collision off the coast of Japan," Trump tweeted Thursday. "Thank you to @USForcesJapan for their immediate response and rescue efforts. Whatever you need, we are here for you."