Americas

Americas

One dead, three missing in U.S. Coast Guard chopper crash

29 February 2012 17:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. One crew member was killed and three others were missing after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crashed in Alabama, the Coast Guard said Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The MH-65C chopper went down Tuesday night in Mobile Bay, Alabama, the Coast Guard said in a press release. One of the crew members was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead. Rescuers were still searching for the other three.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the crew members during this difficult time," said Capt. Don Rose, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Mobile.

"We are working through the night to continue to conduct a robust search for the three crew members who are still missing and we appreciate the assistance of all of the agencies and personnel who are volunteering their time and resources to assist with the search and rescue efforts," he said.

Names of the crew members were not released and the cause of the crash was still under investigation.

The accident occurred a week after two U.S. Marine helicopters collided near Yuma, Arizona, killing seven crew members.

Those aircraft, an AH-1W ’Cobra’ and a UH-1Y ’Huey’, were conducting routine training operations when they collided last Wednesday, according to the Marine Corps.