© Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP, file
FILE - The U.S. flag was lowered to half-staff at Park Semper Fi in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, July 31, 2020. Eight troops aboard a landing craft that sank off the Southern California coast during a training exercise are presumed dead, the Marine Corps announced Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. The Marines said they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with seven Marines and one sailor aboard.
FILE - The U.S. flag was lowered to half-staff at Park Semper Fi in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, July 31, 2020. Eight troops aboard a landing craft that sank off the Southern California coast during a training exercise are presumed dead, the Marine Corps announced Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. The Marines said they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with seven Marines and one sailor aboard.
The Marines said they had called off the search that started late Thursday afternoon when the amphibious assault vehicle sank with 15 Marines and one Navy sailor aboard. Eight Marines were rescued, but one later died and two are in critical condition.
The 26-ton, tank-like craft took on water and quickly sank in hundreds of feet of water — too deep for divers — making it difficult to reach.
"It is with as heavy heart that I decided to conclude the search and rescue effort," said Col. Christopher Bronzi, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Comment: This comes just 3 weeks after 21 people, sailors and civilians, were injured in a massive explosion on a US military ship in San Diego.