Military helicopter with five Marines on board goes missing en route to California

(NEW YORK) — California search and rescue crews are looking for a missing helicopter with five Marines aboard, the U.S. Marine Corps said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter was “reported overdue” to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Tuesday night. The helicopter departed from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas and was en route to Miramar, in the San Diego area.

The Marines have asked for help from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and Civil Air Patrol.

The sheriff’s department said it received a call at 1:50 a.m. and sent its own helicopter to search, but the helicopter wasn’t able to reach the area due to the atmospheric river storm hitting the region. The sheriff’s department said it has now sent off-road vehicles to navigate the rough terrain.

Firefighters responded to the point where the helicopter was last known, and nothing was found, Cal Fire officials said.