Divers have recovered the wreckage of a missing military helicopter, along with the bodies of five of the 10 people on board, off the coast of Japan.

The UH60 helicopter, known as a Black Hawk, vanished from radar screens near the Miyako island last Thursday.

It was surveying the local area at the time it disappeared.

Floating debris believed to be helicopter parts had been spotted during the ongoing search-and-rescue operation.

The four-blade, twin-engine transport helicopter used by Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) went missing shortly before 16:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on 6 April.

Japanese news agency Kyodo News reports the bodies were discovered by a diver on the ocean floor.

It reports the exact cause of the crash is unknown, but is believed to have accidental.

A senior Ground Self Defence Force commander, Lieutenant General Yuichi Sakamoto, was among those on the flight.

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