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Rescue personnel in California are waiting for further instructions: For them, every minute counts in the search for the missing US Marines
Photo: Denis Poroy / AP
Five US Marines were on their way from an air force base in the state of Nevada to Southern California when the military helicopter crashed: 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, as the US Marine Corps announced 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.
Large parts of California have been hit by a violent storm in recent days, causing heavy snowfall in the mountains.
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, 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.
hen/AFP