The US Navy is searching for the wreckage of its downed Seahawk helicopter off the San Diego Coast. And KPBS reporter Katie Orr explains the Coast Guard has called off its search for the remaining two crew members.
A spokesman for the Coast Guard says the agency has finished its part of the search mission and has transferred the operation to the Navy. Lieutenant Josh Nelson says it’s always hard to call off a search for survivors.
“But you have to realize you’ve got crews that have been searching for several hours and weigh the possibility that someone’s still out there alive versus continuing to put the assets and the money into a search and rescue effort,” he says.
A Navy Spokeswoman says unmanned underwater vehicles are being used to look for the helicopter wreckage. The data from the crafts will be analyzed to find the exact location of the helicopter and to determine how to go about salvaging it. The bodies of three of the five crew members have been recovered. They were on a training mission off the of the Coronado islands when the chopper went down late Tuesday night.
Katie Orr, KPBS News
