Soldiers and Marines Missing After Army Helicopter Crash in Florida

From NBC


UPDATE
U.S. military helicopter crashes off northwest Florida; human remains found
CNN
By Greg Botelho
March 11, 2015

Story highlights
The four National Guard members' next of kin have been notified, spokesman says
Four aircrew members, seven Marines were on board the helicopter when it went down

(CNN)Seven Marines and four Army aircrew were presumed dead Wednesday, according to a U.S. Defense official, after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed into waters off the Florida Panhandle during a nighttime training mission.

By late Wednesday morning, human remains had washed ashore in the area near Eglin Air Force Base, base spokeswoman Jasmine Porterfield said.

She didn't specify what was found, noting a search-and-rescue mission remained underway. Still, there was little hope for a miracle, with Gen. Martin Dempsey -- the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the U.S. military's highest-ranking member -- expressing his condolences "at the loss of the folks on that helicopter."

"(The crash is) a reminder to us that those who serve put themselves at risk, both in training and in combat," Dempsey said from Washington. "We will work with the services to ensure that ... their family members will be well cared for."
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Army Helicopter Crashes in Florida: 7 Marines, 4 Soldiers Missing
ABC News
BY CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
24 minutes ago

Seven Marines and four soldiers were missing early Wednesday following an Army helicopter crash in Florida, officials said.

A search and rescue operation was launched after one of two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters participating in a routine nighttime training mission crashed, Eglin Air Force Base spokesman Andy Bourland said.

Bourland said it was too soon to say what caused the crash, but that there were "weather issues" overnight.

"This is search and rescue," he stressed, adding that visibility was limited due to darkness and fog. "We have not declared the status of the 11 personnel on board at the time."

Search and rescue teams have located some debris which began to collect in the search area, Bourland added.
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