The five Marines left Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, for Miramar Air Force base in southern California on Tuesday. The helicopter in question is a CH-53E Super Stallion model.
The Marine Corps is "coordinating search and rescue operations with the San Diego County Sheriff's Team and the Civil Air Patrol," the statement added. The fate of the machine is not yet known, but a series of accidents involving American military aircraft occurred last year, including the crash of an Osprey plane off the coast of Japan.