The US military said Tuesday it had pronounced five missing Marines dead and was ending search operations nearly a week after two US military aircraft crashed off Japan.
This brings the final toll in the December 6 crash to six, with a seventh crew member rescued after the deadly incident.
The crash which involved an F/A-18 fighter jet with two crew onboard and a KC-130 refuelling tanker with five crew occurred in the early morning around 100 kilometres (55 nautical miles) off the cape of Muroto in southwestern Japan.
A massive search and rescue operation were ordered, which the US military said had now been called off.
The accident is believed to have happened during a refuelling operation, but the military said on Tuesday this had not been confirmed and that the circumstances were still under investigation.
Approximately 50,000 US troops stationed in Japan and accidents are quite common. Additionally, the US military has experienced difficulties with its Osprey helicopters, with several emergency landings, a deadly crash and a piece of a chopper falling on the grounds of a Japanese school.
Those incidents have caused tensions between close military allies Washington and Tokyo and resulted in protests against the deployment of Ospreys by residents living near US bases.
