Downed chopper raised to surface but no sign of missing Coast Guards

Published November 29, 2015

Wreckage of Coast Guard helicopter found

A search and rescue chopper that crashed off the coast of Alabama was raised to the surface Thursday however there was no sign of the three Coast Guardsman still missing after the accident.

A 57-foot Coast Guard salvage barge recovered the downed chopper from the bottom of the Mobile Bay, WKRG-TV reported.

However, the crewmembers were not inside the cabin of the crashed MH-65C helicopter, officials said.

The aircraft was on a training mission Tuesday night when it plunged into the water three miles from shore in Mobile Bay -- a 410-square-mile inlet jutting into the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the four crewmembers was found unresponsive by a search team and was later declared dead.

The Coast Guard identified him Thursday as Chief Petty Officer Fernando Jorge, WKRG reported.

The three missing men were named as Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Knight, Lt. j.g. Thomas Cameron and Lt. Cmdr. Dale Taylor.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/downed-chopper-raised-to-surface-but-no-sign-of-missing-coast-guards