TOKYO, Aug 13 (AFP) - A US Marine Corps helicopter crashed during training in a built-up area on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa Friday, injuring three crew members, police and the US military said.
There were no injuries among people on the ground at the crash site in Ginowan City, they said.
"The helicopter crashed on the lawn of Okinawa International University and burst into flames," a police spokesman said.
"We have learned that three US Marines were taken to a US military hospital. Of them one person is seriously injured and the other two suffered light injuries," he said.
The aircraft was a Sikorsky CH-53D Sea Stallion transport helicopter belonging to the US Marines, he said.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed footage of the smoke-charred wall of a building and a mangled, foam-covered helicopter lying between trees just inside the campus perimeter fence next to a busy road.
What appeared to a rotor blade was lying across a residential street with one end resting on a knocked-down motor scooter.
The US Marine Corps confirmed the crash in a statement but gave no details except that the incident was under investigation and there were no reports of civilian casualties.