CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A Navy helicopter carrying four people crashed in a field in rural South Texas late Wednesday.
One person was rescued and taken to a local hospital and rescuers using spotlights and flashlights searched for the other three late Wednesday, said Ed Mickley, a spokesman for the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command.
The Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter exploded into flames after crashing about 8 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
The helicopter assigned to the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 was on a routine training mission from the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi when it went down in a farmer's field, Mickley said.
Searchers set up a perimeter of about 200 yards around the crash site and were expanding beyond that in their search for other crew members.
Mickley said debris was scattered but it was difficult to assess how far because of darkness.
Firefighters battled high flames around the crash site, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported.
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