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Valley native, four other Marines declared dead after plane crash in Japan

Officials say two warplanes collided mid-air and then crashed into the water in Japan last week.

The U.S. Marines said search-and-rescue operations for five Marines reported missing after a plane crash off the coast of Japan have ended after the missing crew members were declared deceased. 

The next-of-kin for the five Marines have been notified, a release said. 

Officials say two warplanes collided mid-air and then crashed into the water in Japan last week.

One of the five Marines reported missing was Maximo Flores, a 27-year-old Valley native, his family says.

In a post on a verified Marines Facebook page Lt. Gen. Eric M. Smith writes, “Every possible effort was made to recover our crew and I hope the families of these selfless Americans will find comfort in the incredible efforts made by US, Japanese and Australian forces during the search.”

He added that the KC-130J flight data and cockpit voice recorders have not been found so they can’t speculate about wreckage recovery.

Two other Marines were rescued last week and one has since died.

  

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