The US Navy has launched a massive search and rescue (SAR) effort in an attempt to locate an individual who went missing following a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea earlier this week.
The incident occurred in the late morning (local time) of Wednesday, July 1, when an MH-60S Seahawk assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush went down in the Arabian Sea within the US Fifth Fleet area of operations.
Three of the helicopter's four crewmembers have been safely rescued and have been returned to Bush. Navy officials said the survivors are in stable condition.
Navy assets in the area are continuing to conduct SAR operations.
US Fifth Fleet officials said it is not believed that the loss of the helicopter was due to hostile action.
This is the second reported loss of a US military helicopter in the region in recent weeks.
In early June, a US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down off the coast of Oman during combat operations. Both the pilot and the co-pilot/gunner were rescued with the aid of a US Navy unmanned surface vehicle.