The US Navy announced on Sunday the suspension of active search operations for a sailor missing since Wednesday, following a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea.
The US Navy said, in a statement via its account on the “X” platform, that it had suspended active search operations for a sailor from the Fifth Marine Combat Helicopter Squadron, stationed aboard the aircraft carrier “USS George H. W. Bush,” as of 3:00 p.m. Atlantic time on July 5, 2026.
The statement added that the sailor was reported missing on July 1, after an MH-60S helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea, noting that efforts ended after a large-scale search operation carried out by the US Navy and US Air Force in the US Central Command area of responsibility.
He explained that the sailor’s name will be withheld for a period of no less than 24 hours after completing notification of his relatives, in accordance with Navy policy.
The statement pointed out that, over the course of more than 102 hours, a massive and coordinated search and rescue operation was carried out that extended over an area of more than 14,000 square miles.
Participated in the search operations were the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Mason, the USS John Finn, in addition to two squadrons of P-8 Poseidon aircraft and a number of US Air Force aircraft.
The US Fifth Fleet had announced, in a previous statement on Wednesday, that a search was underway for a member of a military helicopter after an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea, indicating that 3 of the 4 crew members had been recovered, and that their condition was stable.
The statement confirmed that the Fifth Fleet is investigating the circumstances of the accident, stressing that “there is no indication that the emergency landing of the helicopter was the result of hostile action.”
