Wreckage of a crashed Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter is hauled out of the water off Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 2. (Kazuhiro Ichikawa)

Photo/Illutration Part of the crashed Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter is hauled out of water off Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 2. (Sayuri Ide)

A salvage crew retrieved a large part of the crashed Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter from waters off Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, on May 2.

A ship of a private company commissioned by the Defense Ministry arrived at the site at around 7:50 a.m., and lowered a remote-operated underwater vehicle into the water at 8:20 a.m.

At around 11:45 a.m., the vessel used a crane and nets to haul up the piece of the ruptured helicopter from the seabed.

The helicopter carrying 10 GSDF members went missing on April 6. The bodies of six crewmen have been recovered so far, but four remain missing.

The aircraft was found 106 meters deep on the seafloor about 4.2 kilometers north-northeast of where it disappeared off radar.

Based on the damage, ministry officials believe the helicopter had a horizontal impact on the sea surface and broke into three large pieces.

Other parts of the helicopter scattered on the sea floor will be recovered later in the day.

The Defense Ministry said it hopes to soon recover and analyze the flight recorder to determine why the helicopter crashed.

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