Eight American soldiers had disappeared at sea in a shipwreck on July 30 off the coast of California. The United States Army announced on Sunday the end of search operations for these soldiers, considered dead.
"It was with a heavy heart that I decided to end the search and rescue operations," Colonel Christopher Bronzi, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in a statement.
The military, seven Marine Corps members and a US Navy sailor, were aboard an amphibious assault vehicle, AAV said, which sank at 5:45 p.m. (2:45 a.m. in Paris) on Thursday near the island. San Clemente, a hundred miles off the coast of San Diego, Southern California, during a routine exercise.
Eight other soldiers were rescued
The soldiers were dressed in combat gear and equipped with life jackets, but the AAV, a kind of large floating tank, weighs more than 26 tons and sank quickly to more than 300 m of bottom. A total of 16 soldiers were in the vehicle. Eight had been rescued. One of them later died, and two are in critical condition.
The Marine Corps, US Navy and US Coast Guard searched more than 2,500 square kilometers using helicopters and ships to locate the others, but gave up after 40 unsuccessful hours.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident and while waiting to learn more, all operations aboard the AAVs have been suspended, General David Berger, commander of the Marine Corps, said on Thursday.
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