A U.S. Navy fighter jet and helicopter crashed into the South China Sea on Sunday, in what were two separate incidents.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet announced that at 2:45 p.m. local time, a Navy Seahawk helicopter went down in the water while “conducting routine operations” from the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier. Roughly 30 minutes later, F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet also crashed down in the waters while flying from Nimitz.
All five of the sailors were rescued following efforts from search and rescue teams and are in stable condition.
“The cause of both incidents is currently under investigation,” U.S. Pacific Fleet said.
While the cause of the crashes is unknown, the South China Sea is highly contentious, with clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels common over territorial disputes.
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China claims most of the sea with its so-called nine-dash line, though some of those demarcations are contested by other countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
The incidents come as U.S. President Donald Trump is in the Indo-Pacific region for nearly a week, a trip that includes the ASEAN summit as well as a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump is currently in Malaysia, where he is due to depart tonight for Tokyo.
