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Marine Helicopter Crashes In Southern California; 4 Presumed Dead

A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter has crashed near El Centro, Calif., on Tuesday afternoon during a routine training mission and the military says all four aboard are presumed dead.

"Four crew members were aboard" the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement. "The status of all four is presumed dead pending positive identification."

The helicopter went down at about 2:35 p.m. local time, the statement said. El Centro is about 100 miles east of San Diego.

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The cause of the crash is being investigated, the statement said.

Earlier, Reach Air Medical quickly dispatched two helicopters to the crash site, a spokesperson, Donnie Wharton, told The Desert Review.

The newspaper describes the Super Stallion as "a heavy lift operator with three engines, seven blades [that] can carry up to 50 combat-ready [Marines] or 30,000 pounds of cargo."

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