Military deaths off Florida
Florida fog hampers search for bodies of special-ops trainees
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Searchers hampered by the same fog that plagued a nighttime training mission struggled Wednesday to find the remains of seven Marines and four soldiers presumed killed in a helicopter crash.
A second helicopter turned back safely shortly before the crash, which left debris washing ashore along the Florida coast, officials said.
Military officials haven’t said what caused the crash of the UH-60 Black Hawk, but the weather was bad enough for the other crew to return to land, said Maj. Gen. Glenn Curtis, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard.
The helicopter that crashed had a veteran crew from Hammond, La., that served multiple tours in Iraq and helped humanitarian missions after hurricanes and after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
They were carrying unconventional warriors from the Marines Special Operations Command. Like the Army’s Green Berets and the Navy’s SEALs, they were highly trained to endure grueling conditions and sensitive assignments on land and at sea, from seizing ships to special reconnaissance missions and direct action inside hostile territory.
Tuesday night’s training involved practicing “insertion and extraction missions,” using small boats and helicopters to get troops into and out of a target site, said Capt. Barry Morris, spokesman for the Marine Corps Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
President Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and said he’s confident of a detailed and thorough investigation, said his spokesman Josh Earnest.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families as the search and rescue continues,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Capitol Hill.
Kim Urr, 62, who works at the Navarre Beach campground near the Eglin Air Force Base training area, said she heard a strange sound, followed by two explosions around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“It sounded like something metal either being hit or falling over, that’s what it sounded like. And there were two booms afterward, similar to what you hear with ordnance booms, but more muffled,” Urr said.
Human remains were found Wednesday before the weather deteriorated again, and all 11 service members were presumed killed. But it was still considered a searchand-rescue mission.
A small flotilla of boats searched the choppy water, and airmen walked shoulder to shoulder down the beach, scanning the sand.
“There is always room for optimism,” Eglin spokesman Mike Spaits said.