U.S. Navy chopper crashes off Virginia, one crew member dead

 

A U.S. Navy helicopter went down off the Virginia coast on Wednesday and one of the five crew members has died, the military said.

The MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter was on a training flight when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Fort Story, about 150 miles (240 km) south of Washington, the Navy said in a statement.

A Coast Guard cutter and two helicopters were dispatched to the site.

One of the four people rescued and flown to a hospital in Norfolk has died, the Navy said in a Twitter feed.

Coast Guard spokesman Nix Cangemi said a search is under way for the fifth crew member,

None of the crew has been identified. The Navy statement said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

The helicopter was part of an anti-mine squadron based at Norfolk, Virginia.

Cangemi said at about 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT) the service received a report that the aircraft had gone down about 20 miles (32 km) east of Cape Henry, Virginia.

From WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) -(Reporting by Lacey Johnson; Editing by Ian Simpson, Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)