KADENA: Japan and the United States held a joint drill at a U.S. military facility in southwestern Japan on Thursday to practice responding to a U.S. military aircraft crash.

The drill at the Kadena Marina facility in the town of Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, was attended by 90 people mainly from the U.S. Air Force and local police and fire departments.

Such a drill has been held once a year since 2007, after a U.S. military helicopter crashed into Okinawa International University in 2004.

Thursday’s drill was held under a scenario that civilians suffered serious or minor injuries after an aircraft that left the U.S. military’s Kadena Air Base crashed into a nearby park. Participants checked procedures step by step, including extinguishing fires and rescuing injured people.

Col. Justin Morrison of the 18th Civil Engineer Group at the base said that the U.S. military considers the safety of its members and local residents as its first priority.

The United States will work with Japan to tackle any emergencies, he added.

JIJI Press