The U.S. Navy has provided a major update on its search for a missing crew member.
The crew member vanished after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea.
The U.S. Navy has tragically announced that it has concluded a rescue effort that lasted more than 102 hours and scoured more than 14,000 square miles of open water.
The sailor was never discovered. Four other crew members were rescued from the water and survived.
The missing sailor, whose name is being withheld until relatives are notified, is the 14th American service member confirmed killed in the escalating war with Iran, the New York Post reported.
The helicopter was based on the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.
It went down around 3:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, July 1, in waters within the area of responsibility of U.S. Central Command.
There is no evidence that hostile action was involved in the emergency landing, although the cause is still under investigation, military officials sai
The U.S. 5th Fleet issued a statement confirming the conclusion of the search. The language was spare and official.
“The efforts concluded following an extensive search by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” the statement said.
A second statement from the fleet command described the scope of the operation: “For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted.”
Equally remarkable is what the Navy didn’t say.
No cause has been given for the emergency landing. There is no explanation for the loss of one crew member and the recovery of the other four.
The sailor’s name is being withheld for now. This is the standard protocol for informing families of military casualties, but it leaves families and the public waiting for answers that could take weeks or months.
Fox News reported three of the four recovered crew members were in stable condition on the USS George H.W. Bush.