TOKYO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- One of the seven people on board of two U.S. military aircraft that had crashed off the coast of western Japan early Thursday has been rescued, local media reported, quoting Japanese government sources.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said that Japan's defense ministry had been notified by the U.S. side that a FA-18 jet and a KC-130 tanker plane from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in western Japan have crashed off the coast of Kochi prefecture early Thursday morning.

Two people were on board of the FA-18 jet and five were aboard the tanker plane when the incident happened and search and rescue operations are under way, said the report.

One of the seven people on board of the aircraft has been rescued by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the Japanese Defense Ministry was quoted as saying.

The two U.S. military aircraft were conducting routine training when they collided some 100 km south of Cape Muroto in Kochi Prefecture around 1:40 a.m. local time, said the reports.