Japanese military training plane crashes with two on board

A Japanese military training plane crashed shortly after takeoff, authorities said Wednesday, with reports indicating two people were aboard the aircraft, which appeared to have fallen into a lake.

“We’re aware a T-4 plane that belongs to the Air Self-Defense Force fell down immediately after taking off at Komaki Air Base” in central Japan, top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

“Details are being probed by the Defense Ministry,” he told reporters.

The T-4 seats two and is a “domestically produced, highly reliable and maintainable training aircraft… used for all basic flight courses,” according to the Defense Ministry website.

The aircraft was flying around Lake Iruka near Inuyama City, north of Nagoya, according to media outlets including public broadcaster NHK.

“There is no sight of the plane yet. We’ve been told that an aerial survey by an Aichi region helicopter found a spot where oil was floating on the surface of the lake,” local fire department official Hajime Nakamura told AFP.

He said his office had received unconfirmed information that there were two people on board, but they had not been able to independently verify this.

Aerial footage of the lake broadcast by NHK showed an oil sheen on its surface, dotted with what appeared to be various pieces of debris.

Just after 3:00 p.m. (0600 GMT), the local fire department received a call saying it appeared that a plane had crashed into the lake, the reports said.

The reports added, citing Defense Ministry sources, that the training plane had disappeared from radar.

The Defense Ministry was not able to immediately confirm details .

Jiji Press said the local municipality reported no damage to houses in the area.