Civil authorities have located the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter that disappeared during a training flight on Tuesday, but the search for the missing Marines who were on board continues.
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter carrying five Marines was conducting a routine training flight on February 6 when military officials reported the flight overdue at its destination. The chopper was en route from Creech Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California at the time of its disappearance, according to a news release.
Search and rescue operations then began to search for the missing aircraft. Officials announced that local authorities in Pine Valley, California, located the helicopter the following day at 11:08 a.m. CT. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department reported receiving a call regarding the missing helicopter at about 3 a.m. CT. It deployed a Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit to the area by 5 a.m.
However, unfavorable weather conditions slowed the search efforts.
“The current weather conditions in the search area are a mixture of snow and rain. Due to the difficult terrain, we are using the Sheriff’s Off-Road Enforcement Team’s (ORET) 4×4 Jeeps to search the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. “The Sheriff’s ASTREA (helicopter) Unit has a crew on standby and ready to launch if weather conditions change and allow for safer flying conditions.”
The helicopter’s condition when it was found Wednesday morning has not been publicly disclosed. Search and rescue teams are still searching for the five occupants of the aircraft.
“The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing is managing search and rescue efforts through the Wing Operations Command Center and using ground and aviation assets to locate the aircrew in coordination with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and multiple federal, state, and local agencies,” read the news release. “The most up-to-date information will be released as it becomes available.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has since confirmed that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation.
“We’re watching this closely,” said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, according to ABC News. “Our thoughts are for the best.”
