[Bill]

Training accident in California. Horrible news, prayers for their families





https://www.ocregister.com/2020/08/0...emente-island/

020 at 7:09 a.m. | UPDATED: August 2, 2020 at 8:23 a.m.

A multiagency search and rescue effort for eight servicemembers — likely trapped in a military vehicle on the bottom of the ocean just off San Clemente Island — has become a recovery mission.

“All eight service members are presumed deceased,” Marine Corps officials announced early Sunday, Aug. 2. “The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Amphibious Ready Group leadership determined there was little probability of a successful rescue given the circumstances of the incident.”

On Saturday, Aug. 1, officials announced a Navy ship had come to help. HOS Dominator, typically used for submarine rescue, has joined the effort, said Major Diann Rosenfeld, spokesperson for the Marines.

The ship, part of the Undersea Rescue Command, was on routine training operations near the island when it was diverted to aid in the search. The crew is using a remotely operated vehicle to survey the ocean floor near the amphibious assault vehicle wreckage. Efforts will focus on finding the Marines and sailor. As of Sunday, the ship was operating off the west coast of the Island.

“It is with a heavy heart that I decided to conclude the search and rescue effort,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, 15th MEU commanding officer. “The steadfast dedication of the Marines, sailors and Coast Guardsmen to the persistent rescue effort was tremendous.”

The seven Marines and one sailor have been missing since Thursday, July 30, when their seafaring vehicle — known as an AAV — took on water and sank during a routine training exercise near the island. The Navy-owned Channel Island is about 50 miles west of Orange County and 20 miles south of Catalina Island. It is the only ship-to-shore live-fire training range in the nation. The AAV and 12 others had just left the island’s beaches and were heading out to the USS Somerset, an amphibious transport dock. They had spent the day training on the island.

Eight Marines managed to climb out of the 26-ton vehicle as it sank and were floating in their lifevests. They were rescued by crew members from a nearby AAV and a rescue boat. Crews could only watch as the 26-ton vehicle quickly sank, said Lt. Gen. Joseph Osterman on Friday, Aug. 1. One Marine died and two others were in critical condition at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, but on Friday were moved out of the hospital’s intensive care unit. Friday night, the remaining seven Marines and a Navy corpsman remained missing.