Wreckage of Marines’ plane found at sea

SYDNEY — The submerged wreckage of a U.S. military aircraft was found Monday, two days after it crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia, Australia’s defense minister said.

An Australian navy ship arrived in Shoalwater Bay in Queensland state Sunday night to help the U.S. military hunt for the MV-22 Osprey, which the Marines said was conducting regularly scheduled operations Saturday when it crashed into the water. The wreckage was found shortly thereafter, Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

An Australian navy dive team planned to start the process of recovering the plane Monday night, the U.S. Marine base Camp Butler in Japan said in a statement.

Three Marines missing since the crash were declared dead today. Camp Butler said they were: Marine 1st Lt. Benjamin Cross, 26, of Oxford, Maine; Cpl. Nathaniel Ordway, 21, of Sedgwick, Kan.; and Pfc. Ruben Velasco, 19, of Los Angeles.

Twenty-three other personnel who were on board the Osprey when it crashed were rescued.