| New York Times | - |
Rescue
crews with the Navy and the Coast Guard were searching off the coast of
Hawaii on Friday for a dozen Marines and the debris of two helicopters
that are believed to have collided over the high surf just before
midnight Thursday.
Search for 12 Marines Continues After Hawaii Helicopter Crash
Rescue crews with the Navy and the Coast Guard were searching off the coast of Hawaii on Friday for a dozen Marines and the debris of two helicopters that are believed to have collided over the high surf just before midnight Thursday.
Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers of the Coast Guard in Hawaii said that each helicopter was carrying six Marines
and that rescuers were searching for survivors amid debris found about
two miles off Haleiwa, a city on the north shore of Oahu. None of the
Marines were found on Friday.
The missing 12 Marines were aircrew members aboard two CH-53E helicopters that had been deployed from Marine Corps Base Hawaii
(formerly Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay) for a local training
mission, Capt. Timothy Irish, a public information officer with the
Third Marine Expeditionary Force, said in an interview.
The
Coast Guard received a request for assistance from the Marine Corps
around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, and crews first reached the scene about
30 minutes later, Chief Mooers said. Crews were searching for survivors
amid cloudy skies and rough seas, with waves 10 to 15 feet high. On
Friday, the National Weather Service issued a high surf warning for the area, saying that waves could reach 30 to 40 feet.
Search Underway for Marine Helicopters
Rescuers from the Coast Guard and
Navy were searching for the crew members of two Marine Corps helicopters
that collided during a nighttime training mission over Hawaii on
Thursday.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date January 15, 2016.
Photo by Craig T. Kojima/Associated Press.
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“The
North Shore is famous for its big-wave surf,” Chief Mooers said. “Being
in that kind of condition, if you are without a board, I don’t know
what that would be like.”
The
Navy and the Honolulu Fire Department sent aircraft to assist in the
search, and the Coast Guard was also sending two ships from nearby
islands.
The Marines were flying in dark, cloudy conditions, but Captain Irish said the cause of the collision was under investigation.
Elaray
Navarro, who lives near the beach, said she heard two loud booms
Thursday night that shook her house. “I threw my blanket off, put my
slippers on and ran outside, thinking it was a car accident,” she said, according to The Associated Press.
The missing Marines were not identified, but the family of Capt. Kevin Roche said it believed he was one of them.
“Capt.
Kevin Roche is a passionate Marine who loves his family and his country
— and we love him,” the family said in a statement, according to KITV.
The past year has been deadly for American military members involved in helicopter crashes. On Nov. 23, four soldiers were killed
when a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission
at Fort Hood, Tex. The same day, two Army pilots were killed when their
AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in a mountainous area of South Korea, according to The Army Times. The causes of both crashes are being investigated.
In March, seven Marines and four members of the Louisiana National Guard were killed
when a Black Hawk crashed off the Florida coast during a training
mission. Two helicopters were deployed for that mission, but a decision
was made to turn back when the foggy skies were determined to be
dangerous. Only one crew made it back safely.
And in Nepal in May, six Marines and two Nepali soldiers were killed
when a UH-1 Huey helicopter crashed in a mountain pass during a rescue
mission after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Cloudy skies and rain were a
factor as crews tried to assist in the recovery.
As the search for the Marines continued in Hawaii, Marine Corps Base Hawaii warned people not to touch any wreckage that washed ashore.
The missing 12 are with the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, also known as Pegasus.
“Thoughts
and prayers are with our Marines and their families in Hawaii as search
efforts continue,” Gen. Robert B. Neller, the commandant of the Marine
Corps, wrote on Twitter. “We remain Semper Fidelis.”
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