IA military helicopter with five soldiers on board crashed in the US state of California. A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter that has been missing since Tuesday was located Wednesday in a mountain range in Southern California's Pine Valley region, the US Marine Corps said on Facebook. It was initially unclear whether the five Marines survived the crash.
The fire department said it was difficult to access the area due to snowfall in recent days. Military units, the San Diego Sheriff's Office and several federal, state and local authorities were involved in the search, according to the Army.
Five Marines were on their way to Southern California by helicopter from an Air Force base in Nevada on Tuesday when it was reported that the plane was delayed. Much of California has been hit by a severe storm in recent days, causing heavy snowfall in the mountains.
Several fatal accidents
Last year there were several accidents involving US military aircraft. A military aircraft V-22 Osprey crashed on the coast of Japan in November 2023, eight people were killed. That same month, five US servicemen were killed when a helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.
Three Marines were killed when another osprey crashed in Australia in August. Three more servicemen were killed in April when two helicopters collided during a training exercise in Alaska.