A surfer rides a wave as Typhoon Phanfone passes the area, at a beach in Tsu, Mie prefecture, October 6, 2014. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of people advised to evacuate as a powerful typhoon lashed Japan on Monday with heavy rains and
A surfer rides a wave as Typhoon Phanfone passes the area, at a beach in Tsu, Mie prefecture, October 6, 2014. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of people advised to evacuate as a powerful typhoon lashed Japan on Monday with heavy rains and high winds, leaving at least one person dead as it headed towards Tokyo. REUTERS/Toru Hanai REUTERS/Toru Hanai

A member of the U.S. Air Force has died after being washed away by high waves on Sunday as Typhoon Phanfone thrashed out over Japan. Two others who were swept away but yet to be found have been presumed dead.

A report by the Daily Mail said authorities are currently contacting the families of the unfortunate victims, who got swept while taking pictures of the high and large waves. The U.S. servicemen were stationed at Okinawa, home to roughly 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan.

The Robins Air Force Base, in a press release issued on Monday night, identified the U.S. fatality as Senior Master Sgt. James Swartz, an aerospace propulsion superintendent with the 116th Air Control Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard.

The two still missing were Master Sgt. Daniel Paschal, an aerospace propulsion craftsman with the 116th Air Control Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Schoenhoff, an instrument and flight control systems specialist with the 461st Air Control Wing.

The Japanese Coast Guard immediately conducted a search and rescue operation for the U.S. air force members. It found one in the water, who was later confirmed dead. Kadena Air Base, the U.S. military installation where the airmen were stationed, said it also conducted its own search and rescue, but the rough seas hampered it to push longer.

"Our hearts go out to the 116th and 461st members and their families during this time of loss and unknown outcomes," Col. Kevin Clotfelter, commander of the 116th Air Control Wing, said in the statement.

Typhoon Phanfone, which had moved away from Tokyo, Japan, and is already out on sea on Monday, had injured some 62 others in its wake. It had also forced thousands to leave their homes and evacuate to higher and safe grounds as well as triggered landslides. Air flight in the duration of the typhoon was likewise heavily affected, with over 400 flights cancelled. Also disrupted were bullet train services between Tokyo and Osaka.

Apart from the two missing U.S. airmen, the Japanese Coast Guard reported a 21-year-old surfer and university student has also gone missing. The person was last seen surfing off the coast of Fujisawa, the coast guard said.