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Training Navy Seal candidates in California (icon image)
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A recruit for the Navy SEALs, the US Navy's special forces unit, has died hours after successfully completing the grueling "Hell Week" test.
Another is still in the hospital.
This was announced by the Navy.
The tests completed the first phase of evaluation and selection for Navy commands.
After that, both recruits fell ill and were taken to a hospital in California.
According to the Navy, neither had an accident or unusual incident during the five-and-a-half-day week of testing.
According to the news channel »CNN«, the so-called »Hell Week« is the high point of training for Navy Seals in the USA and consists of five days in which the trainees constantly suffered from cold, hunger, sleep deprivation and moisture.
It's about basic underwater training, fighting techniques and one's own survival.
It takes place during the fourth week of training, during which SEAL candidates are evaluated and hope to be selected for training within the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command.
Up to 60 percent of candidates fail the test
The Navy said the cause of death was not immediately known and was being investigated.
The sailor's name was withheld until 24 hours after his family was notified, in accordance with Navy guidelines.
The Seal program tests physical strength, mental strength, and leadership skills, among other things.
The program is so grueling that at least 50 to 60 percent of the candidates don't survive the "hell week" in which they are pushed to the limit.
The last Seal candidate to die during the exam period was 21-year-old seaman James Derek Lovelace in 2016. He was struggling to tread water in full gear in a huge pool when his instructor pushed him underwater at least twice.
He lost consciousness and died.
His death was initially classified as a homicide.
A year later, following an investigation, the Navy said it would not pursue criminal charges over Lovelace's drowning.
An autopsy revealed he had an enlarged heart and an abnormal coronary artery.
The autopsy report did not reveal the extent to which Lovelace's cardiac abnormalities contributed to his death.
The latest death comes just two months after the death of a Navy Seal commander from injuries sustained in a training accident in Virginia.
Commander Brian Bourgeois, 43, fell from a helicopter while fast-roping and died days later.
kig/AP