MILITARY

Military official: 11 service members missing in helicopter crash in Florida presumed dead

Associated Press
Published | Updated

An Okaloosa County ambulance sits at the Eglin Air Force entrance in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Seven Marines and four soldiers aboard an Army helicopter that crashed over waters off Florida during a routine night training mission were presumed dead Wednesday, and crews found human remains despite heavy fog hampering search efforts, military officials said. (AP Photo/Northwest Daily News, Devon Ravine) (The Associated Press)

Part of a wheel assembly of what could be the wreckage of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter sits on on Riviera Beach in Navarre, Fla., Wednesday, March, 11, 2015. Human remains washed ashore in heavy fog Wednesday after seven Marines and four soldiers were believed to be killed in an Army helicopter crash during a night-time training mission in Florida. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Jennie McKeon) (The Associated Press)

Part of a door assembly of what could be the wreckage of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter sits on Riviera Beach in Navarre, Fla., Wednesday, March, 11, 2015. Human remains washed ashore in heavy fog Wednesday after seven Marines and four soldiers were believed to be killed in an Army helicopter crash during a night-time training mission in Florida. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Jennie McKeon) (The Associated Press)

A military official says the seven Marines and four soldiers aboard an Army helicopter that crashed over waters off Florida during a training mission are presumed dead.

The Pentagon official said Wednesday that the 11 service members are presumed dead and that the Coast Guard found debris in the water. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

Andy Bourland, a spokesman for Elgin Air Force Base outside Pensacola, says the UH-60 Black Hawk from the Army National Guard was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and crews found debris around 2 a.m.

The area was under a fog advisory Wednesday. The crash scene is near a remote swath of beach between Pensacola and Destin. It's owned by the military and used for test missions.

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Associated Press reporter Lolita C. Baldor contributed from Washington.