Updated at 7.12pm
A LARGE-SCALE SEARCH and rescue operation is continuing off the coast of the US state of Virginia after a Navy helicopter with five people on board crashed into the sea near Norfolk.
The craft — a MH 53E Sea Dragon — came down around 18 nautical miles off the coast at around 11am local time.
One person is still missing at sea, while four people were earlier rescued from the water and taken to hospital. However, the US Navy has confirmed this evening that one of the crew-members who had been hospitalised has since passed away.
The Coast Guard cutter Shearwater and two MH-60S helicopters are conducting the ongoing search and rescue operation.
The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
Manufactured by Sikorsky, the MH 53E has an overall length of 30 metres and can travel at 276 km/h. It generally carries two pilots and up to six airmen, depending on the mission.
The crash comes just a day after a US Air Force helicopter crashed in Norfolk, England, killing all four people on board.
First posted at 5.30pm
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
_takes_off_from_the_flight_deck_aboard_the_USS_Harry_S._Truman_(CVN_75).jpg){kind=link}
have your say