IA military helicopter with five soldiers on board crashed in the US state of California. The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, missing since Tuesday, was located on Wednesday in a mountain range in the Pine Valley region of southern California, the US Marine Corps said on Facebook. It was initially unclear whether the five Marines survived the crash.
The fire department said access to the area was difficult due to heavy snowfall over the past few days. According to the army, military units, the sheriff of San Diego and several federal, state and local authorities were involved in the search.
The five Marines were en route to Southern California by helicopter from an Air Force base in Nevada state on Tuesday when “the aircraft was reported overdue.” Large parts of California have been hit by a violent storm in recent days, causing heavy snowfall in the mountains.
Multiple fatal crashes
Last year there were a number of accidents involving US military aircraft. A V-22 Osprey military aircraft crashed off the Japanese coast in November 2023, killing eight people. That same month, five U.S. military personnel were killed when a helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean.
Three Marines were killed when another Osprey crashed in Australia in August. Three more service members died when two helicopters collided during a training exercise in Alaska in April.
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