CALIFORNIA: All five United States Marines on board an Osprey aircraft were killed when it crashed in the California desert near the Arizona border, the US Marine Corps said on Thursday.
No additional details regarding the cause of Wednesday’s crash were provided in the Marine Corps statement.
The MV-22 Osprey went down at 12:25pm (19:25 GMT) on Wednesday during training in a remote area in Imperial County near the community of Glamis, about 185km (115 miles) east of San Diego.
The aircraft was based at Camp Pendleton with Marine Aircraft Group 39 and was part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego.
“We mourn the loss of our Marines in this tragic mishap,” Major General Bradford J Gering, commanding general of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to their families and friends as they cope with this tragedy.”
The statement said that as a matter of policy, the Marine Corps would be contacting family members before identifying those who were killed. Efforts to recover equipment were under way and an investigation has started.
The Osprey, a hybrid aeroplane and helicopter, has been criticised as unsafe. It is designed to take off like a helicopter, rotate its propellers to a horizontal position and cruise like a plane. –Agencies
