U.S. military ends search for five Marines missing off Japan

TOKYO - 11 December 2018: The U.S. military ended a search on Tuesday for five Marines missing in the sea off Japan since two Marine Corps aircraft were involved in an accident during an air-to-air refueling exercise on Dec. 6.

The five missing crew of a KC-130 Hercules refueling plane were officially declared deceased.

"We know this difficult decision was made after all resources were exhausted in the vigorous search for our Marines," Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell Maury, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps' (USMC) Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron, said in a statement.