The U.S. Navy suspended the active search for a sailor missing since Wednesday.
The sailor was reported missing after an MH-60S helicopter went down in the Arabian Sea. The efforts concluded early Sunday morning following an extensive search.
“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 U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a social media post. “The Sailor’s name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete in accordance with Navy policy.”
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The sailor was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 and was embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, the U.S. 5th Fleet said. The Navy said the active search was suspended Sunday at 8 a.m. ET (3 p.m. Arabian Standard Time).
“For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted,” the U.S. 5th Fleet wrote in a statement.
Navy and Air Force assets involved in the search included aircraft from Carrier Air Wings 7 and 9, helicopter squadrons from the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons, and multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft.
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Several Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers also joined the operation, including the USS Ross, USS Donald Cook, USS Higgins, USS Mason and USS John Finn.
MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea early at about 3:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were successfully recovered and were in stable condition aboard the Bush, according to officials.
Military officials said there is no indication the emergency landing was the result of “hostile action.”
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
