The CH-53E Super Stallion is one of the largest US Army helicopters (Reuters)
Five members of the US Marine Corps went missing yesterday, Wednesday, after their helicopter crashed in a remote area east of San Diego, California, hours after it went missing amid a wave of rain and heavy snow.
These forces said - in a statement - that civil authorities found the helicopter about 8 hours after it was reported that it missed its scheduled return to the Marine Corps Air Base in Miramar, California.
It also stated that its aircraft unit, with the support of local authorities, was carrying out a search mission to find the five crew members.
The Marine Corps explained that the crew was conducting a regular training flight that departed from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, about 60 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, on Tuesday evening.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said - in a statement on the X website - that heavy snowfall on Wednesday on sparsely populated mountains, covered with pine trees and dense jungle, made access to the area difficult.
The crashed aircraft, a CH-53E Super Stallion, is about 99 feet (30 meters) long. It is the largest helicopter in the army and is designed to fly in harsh conditions. It can transport troops and equipment in rugged terrain at night and in bad weather conditions, according to the Marine Corps website.
It was used in the Somali capital during the civil war in January 1990 to rescue American and foreign allies from the Washington embassy.
Source: Agencies