Search-and-rescue crews are looking for seven Marines and four soldiers after an Army helicopter crashed late Tuesday during a routine night training exercise in the Florida Panhandle.
Eglin Air Force Base spokesman Andy Bourland told the Associated Press that the helicopter was reported missing at around 8:30 p.m. Central Time and crews found debris from the crash at around 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Bourland told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning that debris was found near the Navarre Bridge, which is located on a small strip of land between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. He said that rescuers were having issues with fog and noted that the sun had not yet risen in that part of Florida. The area where the crash happened had been under a fog advisory Tuesday.
"We expect to know more as it gets light," he said.
Bourland told the AP the names of those involved in the crash are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. When asked about the possibility of rescuing the missing on "Fox & Friends", Bourland said it was a "very challenging situation."
Base officials say the Marines are part of a special operations group based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and the soldiers are from a Hammond, Louisiana-based National Guard unit. The Blackhawk helicopter itself was part of the 1-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Hammond, Louisiana. The four missing soldiers were crew members.
The section of beach near where the helicopter went down is owned by the military and used for test missions. Military police keep a close watch on the area and have been known to run off private vendors who rent jet skis or paddle boards without permission.
Test range manager Glenn Barndollar told The Associated Press in August that the beach provides an ideal training area for special operations units from all branches of the military to practice over the water, on the beach and in the bay.
The military sometimes drops trainees over the water using boats or helicopters and the trainees must make their way onshore.
Bourland said the helicopter took off from Destin's airport and joined other aircraft in the exercise. Another helicopter that took part in the mission returned safely with all its personnel accounted for.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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