LOS ANGELES: A massive sea and air search was under way on Friday for eight missing US Marines off the Southern California coast after a training mishap on Thursday also resulted in one Marine dead and two others injured, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

Fifteen Marines and one Navy sailor were aboard an assault amphibious vehicle that began taking on water around 5:45 pm Pacific time on Thursday, the statement said.

One Marine was pronounced dead at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, and two others were taken to hospitals where one was listed in critical condition and the other in stable condition, the statement said.

A US Navy destroyer and a Coast Guard cutter searched at sea while three Navy helicopters and a Coast Guard helicopter searched overhead, in addition to several small Navy boats, the statement said.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2020