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A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing crashed in the vicinity of El Centro, California, at about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday during a routine training mission, the Corps has announced. All four crew members are presumed dead. The crash site is about 10 miles from the border with Mexico. The helicopter was assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, north of San Diego. The CH-53E is largest and heaviest helicopter in the U.S. military, with three engines and seven rotor blades.It can carry dozens of troops and tons of cargo.
The names of the crew members will be withheld until 24 hours after their relatives are notified, officials at the Miramar base said. In January 2016, 12 Marines were killed when two Super Stallions collided off the coast of Hawaii during a training mission.
