US fighter plane crashes off Japanese island of Okinawa

An American fighter plane has crashed off the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, according to reports.

The military aircraft that crashed on Thursday afternoon was believed to be a AV-8B Harrier Jump Jet, reports said.

A Japanese coastguard official told CNN that the fighter jet departed the Kadena US airbase and crashed off the east coast of Okinawa.

It’s not clear how many people were aboard, but according to reports at least one person has been rescued from the crash site.

Okinawa is home to a large US military presence. The US military base in Okinawa, which covers a fifth of the island, hosts 30,000 military personnel. Okinawa was under US occupation until 1972.