Seven Injured After U.S. Army Helicopter Crashes on Deck of MSC Cargo Ship

A damaged U.S. Army helicopter rests on the desk of the USNS Red Cloud off Okinawa island, southern Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo August 12, 2015. REUTERS/Kyodo

Seven people were injured Wednesday when a U.S. Army helicopter crashed on the deck of a Military Sealift Command (MSC) ship during a training exercise off Okinawa, Japan.

According to U.S. Forces Japan, the U.S. Army H-60 helicopter made a “hard deck landing” aboard the USNS Red Cloud (T-AKR-313) at 1:46 p.m. local time Wednesday while the ship was underway approximately 20 miles east of Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost island. The helicopter was conducting a local training mission when the incident occurred.

Reports say there were 17 people on board the helicopter.

The injured personnel were transported to a U.S. Naval hospital at Camp Foster in Okinawa, U.S. Forces Japan said.

The 905-foot USNS Red Cloud is part of MSC’s Prepositioning Program, MSC’s largest sealift ships used to preposition Army stocks and other cargo. The ship is crewed by 30 civilian mariners.

The cause of incident is under investigation by the United States. Japan’s government has also demanded a probe of the incident.