US recovers bodies of three soldiers from crashed helicopter in Mediterranean

The U.S. military recovered the bodies of three army soldiers from a downed helicopter in the Mediterranean Sea, the Navy confirmed on Thursday.

An Army MH–60 Black helicopter was performing routine operations over the Mediterranean Sea in November before experiencing an emergency onboard and suddenly crashing into the ocean, killing all five personnel onboard. A Navy dive team and Army aviation team located the helicopter and recovered the bodies and the aircraft itself, the Navy said in a press release on Thursday.

“The success of this mission can be attributed to highly trained Sailors, Soldiers, and civilians from the combined Army-Navy team who came together and displayed extreme skill to safely recover the helicopter,” Navy Cdr. John Kennedy said in a statement on Thursday. “Everyone onboard was humbled by the opportunity to play a small role in helping to bring closure to grieving families.”

Five soldiers in total died during the accident, according to the Navy. Two bodies were immediately found in the aftermath of the accident, and the remaining three were recovered on Friday.

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) said that there were no indications that “hostile activity” was the cause of the crash, according to Military.com. The Pentagon would not confirm to Military.com whether the helicopter was conducting operations in the Mediterranean to support Israel but did say that it was there in response to “the dynamic security environment in the region.”

The Navy called on experts from its Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) to help the recovery operation, according to the press release. A 4,100-pound naval deep drone, capable of lowering to depths of 8,000 feet, was also utilized in the operation.

The bodies of the soldiers were returned to their families, according to the press release. The U.S. Army previously identified the five fallen soldiers as Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California.

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