Marines missing from Osprey accident near Australia

UPDATE: The U.S. military on Sunday called off a search and rescue operation and launched a recovery effort for three Marines who went missing Saturday when their MV-22 Osprey crashed into the sea off the east coast of Australia as it attempted to land. Twenty-three of the 26 Marines aboard the aircraft were rescued. U.S. Marine base Camp Butler said in a statement investigators are probing the cause of the crash as the military begins the recovery effort: “Recovery and salvage operations can take several months to complete, but can be extended based on several environmental factors.”

OUR EARLIER REPORT (8/5/17, 10:50 a.m.): Rescuers were searching Saturday for U.S. Marines involved in an incident with an MV-22 Osprey aircraft off the eastern coast of Australia. Twenty-three Marines had been rescued and three more were missing after the mishap, Reuters reported. Troops were in the area for a joint military training exercise by the U.S. and Australia last month in Shoalwater Bay. The Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like an airplane. They have been involved in a series of high-profile crashes in recent years. U.S. Marine officials did not provide further details, including whether there were any casualties.