Marine helicopter crashes in Southern California, at least four presumed dead
At least four people are presumed dead after a Marine helicopter crashed on Tuesday, during a Southern California training mission. The military released a statement saying all of the four crew members on the chopper are believed to have been killed in the incident.
The chopper — CH-54E Super Stallion — reportedly came spiraling down shortly after 3:30 pm on Tuesday near El Centro, just a few miles away from the United States-Mexico border.
"Four crew members were aboard" the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, the 3rdMarine Aircraft Wing said in a statement. "The status of all four is presumed dead pending positive identification."
According to a base press statement, the helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station in San Diego. The crash site was located by the nearby Naval Air Facility in El Centro, stating that the location of the incident was north of Plaster City in the region. The cause of the crash is currently unknown as authorities are investigating the incident.
The Miramar base said that the names of the crew members killed in the incident will be withheld until 24 hours after their relatives are notified of the tragedy. A spokesperson, Donnie Wharton, said that shortly the incident, Reach Air Medical dispatched two helicopters to the crash site.
The Desert Review described the Super Stallion as "a heavy lift operator with three engines, seven blades [that] can carry up to 50 combat-ready [Marines] or 30,000 pounds of cargo." The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the US military, and is typically used for minesweeping, transport and can carry tons of cargo and dozens of troops.
This is the deadliest crash involving a Marine craft since July 2017 when a KC130T transport plane crashed in Mississippi, killing 15 Marines and a sailor, reports state.