The U.S. Navy has suspended its active search for a sailor who had been missing since Wednesday following a helicopter incident in the Arabian Sea.
The sailor was reported missing after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter made an emergency water landing while operating in the region. The search ended after a large-scale effort involving U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force teams under U.S. Central Command.
“The efforts concluded following an extensive search by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a social media post. “The Sailor’s name is being withheld until at least 24 hours after next-of-kin notification is complete in accordance with Navy policy.”
According to the U.S. 5th Fleet, the missing sailor was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 and was embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. The Navy said the active search was suspended Sunday at 8 a.m. ET, or 3 p.m. Arabian Standard Time.
“For more than 102 hours, an extensive and coordinated search and rescue effort spanning over 14,000 square miles was conducted,” the U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement.
The operation included Navy and Air Force assets, with aircraft from Carrier Air Wings 7 and 9, helicopter squadrons from the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln, two P-8 Poseidon squadrons and multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft taking part in the search.
Several Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers also assisted in the effort, including the USS Ross, USS Donald Cook, USS Higgins, USS Mason and USS John Finn.
The MH-60S Sea Hawk, assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, went down in the Arabian Sea at about 3:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were recovered and were in stable condition aboard the carrier, officials said.
Military officials said there is no indication the emergency landing was the result of “hostile action.”
The cause of the incident remains under investigation.
