Update: 2 Crew Members Missing After Coronado Navy Helicopter Crash in Red Sea

Update 10:55 a.m., Sept. 23: A Navy search of the Red Sea for two helicopter crew members aboard a San Diego-based MH-60S Knighthawk that crashed Sunday was suspended Monday.

Originally published 10:15 a.m. Sept. 22. 

Three MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crew members based out of Naval Air Station North Island were "accounted for and stable" following a crash Sunday in the Red Sea, but rescue crews continued to search for two others, the Navy announced Sunday.

The crash, in the central part of the sea between Africa and Asia, was not related to hostile activity, according to Navy spokespersons at Central Command in Bahrain.

The helicopter and its crew were assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6, and had been operating with the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence and the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in January, Navy officials said.

Navy officials said the crash remained under investigation.

The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was providing aircraft and small boats for search and rescue assistance, according to the Navy. The task force includes the Nimitz and the William P. Lawrence, along with USS Princeton, USS Shoup, USS Stockdale and USNS Rainier.

MH-60R Seahawks from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 75, a P-3 from Patrol Squadron and additional Nighthawks from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron were searching for the two missing aviators.

The exact location of the crash was not disclosed. The Red Sea is the body of water that separates Africa and Asia, off the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

–City News Service