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An MH-60S Knighthawk approaches USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during a replenishment-at-sea in this Jan. 2013 photo.

An MH-60S Knighthawk approaches USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during a replenishment-at-sea in this Jan. 2013 photo. (Tamara Vaughn/U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy on Monday suspended search-and-rescue efforts for the remaining two crewmembers of a helicopter that crashed into the Red Sea a day earlier.

Three other personnel in the helicopter were accounted for and in stable condition, according to the Navy.

“Navy officials have concluded that given the time elapsed since the incident, aircrew survivability was extremely unlikely,” a news release on the U.S. 5th Fleet website said. “The location of the crash site is known, and an extensive area has been searched multiple times by various ships and aircraft.”

The names of the servicemembers were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter was landing on the deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence when it crashed, according to the release, which gave no further details.

The crash was not due to any sort of hostile activity, the release said. The Navy is investigating the cause of the accident.

Assisting in the search-and-rescue efforts were the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the Lawrence, the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, the destroyers USS Shoup and USS Stockdale and the fast combat support ship USNS Rainier as well as MH-60S Knighthawks from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron-6, MH-60R Seahawks from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 75 and one P-3 Orion from Patrol Squadron 47.

news@stripes.com

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