Volatile weather hampered the search Saturday for 12 Marines who were on two helicopters that crashed in mid-air off the coast of Hawaii the day before, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
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– A Minnesota couple is rushing to the Hawaiian island of Oahu after learning their son is one of the 12 Marines still missing after two helicopters went down in the ocean Thursday night.
Authorities have spotted a debris field that spans more than 11 kilometers off the coast, and have set up a safety zone in the area.
“We believe the Marines and Coast Guard are doing everything they can to bring Kevin and his fellow Marines home safely and we are grateful to everyone involved in the rescue”, Roche’s family said in a statement. He was third in command of the CH-53E super stallion helicopter that’s believed to have collided with another helicopter of his squadron during a nighttime training mission.
“We are now back in the water, and we are searching”, Honolulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright said.
“The weather is making it very hard”, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Scott Carr told reporters. Somebody else reported a flare in the sky.
Elaray Navarro, a retiree who lives across the street from the beach, said she heard two booms late Thursday that were loud enough to shake her house.
The Coast Guard initially reported that the choppers had collided, but Irish said Friday that he did not know if the accident was a collision.
Enright says rescuers are hopeful survivors will be found.
The helicopters were stationed at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Oahu, and assigned to the 1 Marine Aircraft Wing.
Officials said the Marine is a member of Hingham’s Orlando family. Swells reached 16 feet, surf rose to 40 feet and visibility extended to only one mile, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard has sent a helicopter and an HC-130 Hercules airplane to assist with the rescue effort.
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Marine Capt. Timothy Irish said Friday that each helicopter had a crew of six from Marine Corps Base Hawaii. He did not know whether they were teaching the crew or just observing. No mayday call was received, just word that something had gone wrong, Carr said.
