DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The bodies of four U.S. Marines were found Monday, one day after their military helicopter crashed into the sea 60 miles off the coast of Somalia, officials said.
The CH-46E Echo Sea Knight helicopter from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit was flying routine air patrols when it crashed Sunday with 18 servicemen aboard, a statement from the U.S. command in the region said.
The four bodies were found Monday after search and rescue efforts that involved helicopters from the amphibious assault ship USS Okinawa and other ships in the area, the U.S. military said in the statement issued in Bahrain.
Fourteen passengers were rescued Sunday, four of them with burn injuries. A fifth crewman also was injured, and all five were taken to Germany for treatment, the military statement said.
The unit involved in the crash was based at Camp Pendleton, California.
The statement did not identify the victims by name or give any possible reason for the crash of the CH-46E, manufactured by Boeing.
U.S. warships are patrolling the region as part of a U.N. team enforcing trade sanctions against Iraq. The sanctions were imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.
