Melissa Nelson-Gabriel, Associated Press Reporting
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A military official says the seven Marines and four soldiers aboard an Army helicopter that crashed over waters off Florida during a training mission are presumed dead.
The Pentagon official said Wednesday that the 11 service members are presumed dead and that the Coast Guard found debris in the water.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak on the record.
Crews have found human remains connected to the Army helicopter crash. Sara Vidoni is a spokeswoman for Eglin Air Force Base. She said Wednesday that human remains have washed ashore, but crews are still considering it a search-and-rescue mission.
Andy Bourland, a spokesman for Elgin Air Force Base outside Pensacola, says the UH-60 Black Hawk from the Army National Guard was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and crews found debris around 2 a.m.
The area was under a fog advisory Wednesday.
The crash scene is near a remote swath of beach between Pensacola and Destin. It’s owned by the military and used for test missions.
The missing chopper is one of two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that was participating in routine exercises near Eglin Air Force Base, some 50 miles east of Pensacola. The second helicopter landed safely, Bourland said.
The Marines were part of a special operations unit based out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, while the aircrew and helicopter belonged to the Louisiana Army National Guard.
President Barack Obama says he’s confident there will be a detailed and thorough investigation.
Obama spoke by phone Wednesday with Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, who heads the Marine Corps special forces, and Maj. Gen. Glenn Curtis of the Louisiana National Guard. Seven Marines and four soldiers are believed to have been killed in the Black Hawk crash during a night-time training mission.
The White House says Obama expressed his condolences to the families of those killed.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.