US jets hit the ocean

A US Marine refuelling plane and a fighter jet have crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Japan’s southwestern coast after a midair collision.

Rescuers found one of the seven crew members in a stable condition early yesterday.

The US Marine Corps said the crash involved an F-18 fighter jet and a KC-130 refuelling aircraft during a regular training exercise after the planes took off from their base in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima, in western Japan.

The crash is the latest in a recent series of US military accidents in and near Japan.