5 missing after Navy helicopter crashes in ocean
SAN DIEGO – Rescue crews were still searching Wednesday for five missing sailors a day after a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in the ocean off Southern California near an aircraft carrier, military officials said.
One sailor was rescued shortly after the crash of the MH-60S helicopter Tuesday afternoon and was listed in stable condition at a hospital in San Diego, according to a statement from the Navy's Pacific fleet.
Also injured were five other sailors who were on board the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier where the helicopter was operating on the deck before the crash, the statement said.
The statement did not say how the crash about 70 miles off San Diego happened but the fact that sailors aboard the carrier were injured raised questions about whether the helicopter or parts of it hit the Lincoln. When helicopters take off and land on the ship, there are ground crews present on the carrier nearby and other people working on deck.
Two of the injured sailors were taken to San Diego for treatment while three others were treated on board for minor injuries, the Navy said.