U.S. helicopter crashes near Colombia

BOGOTA, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. Navy helicopter has crashed off the coast of Colombia carrying up to five military personnel, whose fate remains unknown.

The helicopter went down Tuesday morning in the Pacific Ocean about 350 miles off the coast after taking off from a U.S. warship, the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported Wednesday.

"The helicopter was conducting scheduled flight operations when it crashed in international waters west of Colombia," the military said in a terse statement.