Marine sea tank sinks with 16 aboard; 1 dead and 8 missing
SAN
DIEGO (AP) — An amphibious assault vehicle carrying 15 Marines and a
Navy sailor sank near a military-owned island off the coast of Southern
California, leaving one of the Marines dead and eight missing,
authorities said Friday.
They were traveling in the vehicle that
resembles a seafaring tank from the shores of San Clemente Island to a
Navy ship Thursday evening when they reported the vehicle was taking on
water, said Lt. Cameron H. Edinburgh, a Marine Corps spokesman for Camp
Pendleton.
Two Marines who were rescued were injured, with one
hospitalized in critical condition and the other in stable condition, a
Marine Corps statement said.
Military ships, small boats and
helicopters on Friday were searching choppy seas for the missing amid
moderate to strong winds. The Navy-owned island is about 70 miles (112
kilometers) offshore from San Diego.
All of the Marines on the
vehicle were assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and were
involved in a routine military exercise when the vehicle started taking
on water, the Marine Corps said.
“We are deeply saddened by this
tragic incident. I ask that you keep our Marines, Sailors, and their
families in your prayers as we continue our search,” Col. Christopher
Bronzi, the unit’s commanding officer, said in a statement from the
Marine Corps.
Thursday’s accident marks the third time in less
than a decade that Camp Pendleton Marines have been injured or died in
amphibious assault vehicles during training exercises.
In 2017,
14 Marines and one Navy sailor were hospitalized after their amphibious
assault vehicle hit a natural gas line, igniting a fire that engulfed
the landing craft during a training exercise at Camp Pendleton, the
sprawling coastal Marine Corps base north of San Diego.
And in 2011, a Marine died when an amphibious assault vehicle in a training exercise sank off the shores of Camp Pendleton.
The
Marines use the amphibious assaults vehicles to transport troops and
their equipment from Navy ships to land. They are nicknamed “amtracs”
because the original name for the vehicle was “amphibious tractor.”
The
armored vehicles outfitted with machine guns and grenade launchers look
like tanks as they roll ashore for beach attacks, with Marines pouring
out of them to take up positions.
The Marine Expeditionary Force
is the Marine Corps’ main warfighting organization. There are three such
groups which are made up of ground, air and logistics forces.