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Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa in 2009

Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa in 2009 (U.S. Air Force)

TOKYO — Two people assigned to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa were found dead in separate incidents on Saturday.

A Kadena civilian contractor was found dead at an off-base hotel room early Saturday morning, according to an Air Force 18th Wing statement. The cause of the contractor’s death is currently under investigation.

Also, an airman died during a diving accident off Okinawa’s coast, about 30 miles north of Kadena Air Base.

The airman was airlifted to Nakagami Hospital, where medical workers were unsuccessful in resuscitating him.

The names of both victims are being withheld until 24 hours after the notification of next of kin, according to the statement.

The incidents Saturday mean that at least five people working at Kadena have died during the past two weeks.

Three airmen who were temporarily assigned to Kadena from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., died after being swept out to sea by high waves associated with Typhoon Phanfone on Oct. 5.

The victims were part of a group of six airmen that had been taking pictures along Okinawa’s rocky northwestern shoreline.

new@stripes.com

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