Tokyo on Sunday asked Washington to halt Osprey flights in Japan after the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps called off search and rescue operations for three marines who disappeared after an MV-22 crashed off Australia's east coast a day earlier.
The Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa Prefecture, said in a statement that it had ended its hunt for the missing troops at around 3 a.m. local time Sunday.
Operations have shifted to recovery efforts, and the next-of-kin of the three marines have been notified, essentially confirming that the U.S. military did not expect to find them alive. The 23 other service members who were on board were rescued.
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