The U.S. military has ended its search for five crew members of a Marine Corps KC-130 refueling aircraft that went down in the ocean 200 miles off the coats of Japan last week, after it collided mid-air with an F/A-18 fighter jet.
“The Marine Corps has pronounced the five remaining Marines involved in the F/A-18 and KC-130 aviation mishap deceased,” said statement released Okinawa, Japan. “The change in status comes at the conclusion of search and rescue operations.”
The names of the Marines will be released with 24 hours, in accordance with Pentagon policy. The next-of-kin have already been notified.
“Every possible effort was made to recover our crew and I hope the families of these selfless Americans will find comfort in the incredible efforts made by U.S., Japanese, and Australian forces during the search,” said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, in a statement.
The accident remains under investigation, and while aircraft were conducting regularly scheduled training, “it has not confirmed that aerial refueling was ongoing when the mishap occurred,” the Marine Corps said.
The two F/A-18 pilots were found in the ocean, but one Capt. Jahmar Resilard did not survive after 10 hours in the water.
