5 Marines missing after being aboard helicopter that went down in CA confirmed dead: military

SAN DIEGO -- Five U.S. Marines aboard a chopper that went down during stormy upwind successful the mountains extracurricular of San Diego are confirmed dead, subject said.

Authorities accidental the CH-53E Super Stallion vanished precocious Tuesday nighttime portion returning to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar successful San Diego aft grooming astatine Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas.

"It is with a dense bosom and profound sadness that I stock the nonaccomplishment of 5 outstanding Marines from 3d Marine Aircraft Wing and the "Flying Tigers," Maj. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte, commandant of 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said successful a statement.

The names of the Marines were not instantly released.

The trade was discovered Wednesday greeting adjacent the upland assemblage of Pine Valley, an hour's thrust from San Diego.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier communicative follows below.

The subject said search-and-rescue efforts were continuing for 5 U.S. Marines aft their chopper went down during stormy upwind successful the Southern California mountains. Here's what we cognize truthful far:

WHAT HAPPENED

A CH-53E Super Stallion chopper was returning from a grooming ngo successful Nevada erstwhile it disappeared Tuesday night. Civilian authorities searching connected crushed and by aerial located the craft conscionable aft 9 a.m. Wednesday adjacent the upland assemblage of Pine Valley, astir a 45-mile (72-kilometer) thrust from San Diego. With rescuers having to conflict done dense snow, determination was nary connection Wednesday nighttime connected whether they had reached the chopper oregon connected the destiny of the 5 radical aboard.

The Marines were flying from Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, wherever they had been doing unit-level grooming and were returning location to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar successful San Diego, defence officials said.

The past known interaction with the chopper was astatine astir 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mike Cornette of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told CBS 8 news. That determination was based connected a "ping" reported to a Cal Fire dispatch center.

The helicopter, which was designed to alert successful harsh conditions, went missing arsenic an historical tempest dumped dense snowfall and grounds rainfall implicit California. More rainfall and snowfall deed the portion Wednesday night, forecasters said.

WHO IS MISSING

The radical aboard the craft haven't been named but they were assigned to Miramar's Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, the subject said successful a statement.

While it tin transportation dozens of people, the mean unit constituent for the Super Stallion is four: a pilot, copilot, unit chief, and mechanic/gunner, according to a U.S. Navy website.

President Joe Biden was briefed connected the missing Marines, said White House property caput Karine Jean-Pierre, who answered questions arsenic the president flew to New York City for run fundraisers.

"We're watching this intimately and again our thoughts are for the best," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

THE RESCUE EFFORT

The subject was moving with federal, authorities and section agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the authorities Civil Air Patrol.

But upwind and rugged terrain made the task difficult. Pine Valley is astatine astir 3,700 feet (1,127 meters) successful elevation successful the Cuyamaca Mountains, an country which saw arsenic overmuch 8 inches (20 centimeters) of accumulating snowfall wrong hours Tuesday nighttime and aboriginal Wednesday and saw much falling Wednesday night, according to forecasters.

The country includes San Diego County's 2nd highest mountain, Cuyamaca Peak, astatine 6,512 feet (1,985 meters), and is besides adjacent the Cleveland National Forest, which covers 720 quadrate miles (1,860 quadrate kilometers) with overmuch of it steep, rocky and with constricted trails.

THE HELICOPTER

The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest chopper successful the subject and the Marines person utilized it for heavy-lifting duties astir the satellite for much than 3 decades. More than 130 are successful operation.

Equipped with GPS, infrared radar and different equipment, the craft has performed "a afloat scope of subject combat operations successful Beirut, Somalia, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya," according to a U.S. Navy website.

About 99 feet (30 meters) long, the Super Stallion tin determination troops and instrumentality from ships to shore, ferry supplies and motorboat amphibious assaults.

Nicknamed the "hurricane maker" due to the fact that of the downwash from its 3 engines, the Super Stallion has a 50-mile (80.5-kilometer) range. It was designed to transportation up to 55 troops oregon astir 16 tons (more than 13,000 kilograms) of cargo some wrong and slung extracurricular the cabin.

With an outer load, the chopper tin measurement up to astir 35 tons (31,638 kilograms).

RELATED: US identifies peculiar ops troops killed successful chopper clang aft grooming 'mishap'

Two CH-53E helicopters were utilized successful the civilian war-torn superior of Mogadishu, Somalia, successful January 1990 to rescue American and overseas allies from the U.S. embassy.

The chopper has been progressive successful respective deadly accidents. In 2018, 4 Marines from Miramar died erstwhile their Super Stallion crashed adjacent El Centro, adjacent the California-Mexico border, during a grooming mission. The Marine Corps ruled retired aviator mistake for the accident. The victims' families aboriginal sued 2 companies they alleged provided a defective portion that they blamed for the crash.

In 2005, a Super Stallion went down successful a sandstorm successful Iraq, sidesplitting 31 radical connected board. The accident, blamed connected aviator error, was the azygous deadliest nonaccomplishment of U.S. troops during the war.

Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writer John Antczak successful Los Angeles contributed to this report.