The Marine Corps and U.S. Navy updated its death toll to eight for the incident that took place in California last week.
Officials from Camp Pendleton said Sunday that the military had concluded its search for seven missing Marines and one missing sailor after more than 40 hours of searching for an amphibious assault vehicle that took on water and sank off the coast of California on Friday. The eight missing service members are presumed dead, according to a Marine Corps statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I decided to conclude the search and rescue effort,” said Col. Christopher Bronzi, 15th MEU commanding officer. “The steadfast dedication of the Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen to the persistent rescue effort was tremendous.”
“Our thoughts and prayers have been and will continue to be with our Marines’ and Sailor’s families during this difficult time,” Bronzi added. “As we turn to recovery operations, we will continue our exhaustive search for our missing Marines and Sailor.”
Eight Marines were rescued when the vessel first went under, including two who were listed in critical condition, and one died. The Marine Corps determined that there was “little probability of a successful rescue” of the remaining eight service members and have shifted the search for survivors into a search for the missing vessel.
