Seven Marines and four Army aircrew were presumed dead Wednesday, according to a U.S. Defense official, after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed into waters off the Florida Panhandle during a nighttime training mission.
By late Wednesday morning, human remains had washed ashore in the area near Eglin Air Force Base, base spokeswoman Jasmine Porterfield said.
She didn’t specify what was found, noting a search-and-rescue mission remained underway. Still, there was little hope for a miracle, with Gen. Martin Dempsey — the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the U.S. military’s highest-ranking member — expressing his condolences “at the loss of the folks on that helicopter.”
“(The crash is) a reminder to us that those who serve put themselves at risk, both in training and in combat,” Dempsey said from Washington. “We will work with the services to ensure that … their family members will be well cared for.”
The Black Hawk was first reported missing during foggy conditions at about 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. ET) Tuesday. Hours later, at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, searchers found debris around Okaloosa Island near Eglin, base spokesman Andy Bourland said. This debris washed up on both the north and south sides of Santa Rosa Sound, which connects mainland northern Florida and a barrier island.
The Air Force, Coast Guard and civilian agencies participated in the intensive search focused on where they believe the aircraft went down, in waters east of the town of Navarre and the Navarre Bridge and near Eglin testing range site A-17.
Those efforts were helped Wednesday morning by the rising sun, but not the shrouding fog, according to Eglin spokeswoman Sara Vidoni.
“We’re working closely with all the parties involved to locate our Marines and the Army crew that were onboard,” added Capt. Barry Morris, a spokesman for the U.S. Marines Corps Special Operations Command. “And really just our thoughts (and) prayers are with the Marines, the soldiers and the families of those involved in the mishap.”
CNN