Tokyo, Dec 3 (AP) A search continued Saturday for seven missing military personnel following the crash of an Osprey off the coast of southern Japan, and a body pulled from the ocean was formally identified.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was formally identified by the the Air Force Special Operations Command on Saturday, after tributes had begun pouring in the day before.

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Galliher was the only crew member recovered while the others remained missing after the crash on Wednesday off Yakushima Island. Participants in the search operation Saturday included the U.S military, Japanese Self Defense Force, Coast Guard, law enforcement and civilian volunteers.

“We want to assure our air commandos' families that our efforts will continue and include every possible capability at our disposal,” said Rear Adm. Jeromy Williams, Pacific commander for the Special Operations Command.

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The cause of the crash, which occurred during a training mission, was under investigation.

U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command said the CV-22B Osprey was one of six deployed to Yokota Air Base, home to U.S. Forces Japan and the Fifth Air Force, and assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing.

The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can tilt its propellers horizontally to fly like an airplane while aloft. U.S. Osprey operations continued in Japan, but the remaining five Ospreys from the squadron involved in Wednesday's crash weren't flying, officials said Friday. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)