A U.S. service member remains missing three days after an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command.
Six troops were onboard the helicopter during a training event approximately 20 miles off the country’s southern coast. Five of the service members were rescued by U.S. forces, but a search began for the sixth service member.
“We have not completed the search yet, therefore we have no additional information to provide at this time,” Maj. Earl Brown, a CENTCOM spokesman, told Army Times via email on Monday.
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The helicopter and crew belonged to the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, The Washington Post reported.
They were working alongside a special operations task force operating in the region, the newspaper reported on Saturday.
According to the Post, the crew was conducting hoist training when the Black Hawk lost power and crashed into the water.
The crash occurred about two weeks after a UH-60 Black Hawk went down off the island of Oahu in a separate incident. The Army announced on Saturday that three of the five soldiers missing in that crash have been declared dead after organic matter discovered in the debris matched their DNA.
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Five soldiers were onboard that helicopter when it crashed on Aug. 15, but the remaining two crew members are still considered duty status — whereabouts unknown, or DUSTWUN. All five soldiers belonged to 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
The three deceased soldiers were identified as 1st Lt. Kathryn Bailey, Staff Sgt. Abigail Milam and Sgt. Michael Nelson. The two who remain missing are Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Woeber and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stephen Cantrell.
Michelle Tan contributed to this story.
Charlsy is a Reporter and Engagement Manager for Military Times. Email her at cpanzino@militarytimes.com.
