Navy declares 5 missing sailors dead after helicopter crash
CARIBBEAN SEA (Aug. 28, 2021) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 Detachment Five, takes off from the flight deck of the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10) after refueling, Aug. 28, 2021. Burlington and HSC 28 are supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts in Haiti following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14, 2021. (U.S. Navy photo by Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Jonathon Miller)
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SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Navy declared five missing sailors dead nearly a week after a helicopter crashed in the Pacific Ocean, shifting the search for them to a recovery operation on Saturday.
The move followed more than 72 hours of coordinated rescue efforts and nearly three dozen search and rescue flights to look for the wreckage, the Navy’s Pacific fleet said in a Saturday statement.
The names of the sailors were being withheld until their next of kin have been notified.
Also injured on Tuesday were five other sailors who were onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier where the MH-60S helicopter was operating on the deck before the crash.
They were in stable conditions as of Saturday, said Lt. Samuel R. Boyle, a spokesman for the Pacific fleet.
An investigation into what caused the crash about 70 miles off San Diego is ongoing, but the fact that sailors aboard the carrier were injured raised questions about whether the helicopter or parts of it hit the Lincoln. When helicopters take off and land on the ship, there are ground crews present on the carrier nearby and other people working on deck.
The helicopter crashed during what the Navy described only as routine flight operations.
The MH-60S helicopter typically carries a crew of about four and is used in combat support, humanitarian disaster relief, and search and rescue missions.
The aircraft belongs to the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8.