The salvage has begun of a Black Hawk helicopter that crashed into the waters off Florida, killing 11 US military members.
On Friday, mangled and eroded chopper pieces being hoisted from the bay.
Four Louisiana National Guard soldiers and seven Marines were killed when the aircraft slammed into the water during a routine training mission in dense fog Tuesday.
The Air Force said a salvage barge from Mobile arrived at the crash site by early Friday afternoon. The work to haul the shattered helicopter core from about 25 feet of water could take up to eight hours.
A Coast Guard dive team is helping with the operation.
Officials say the salvage and recovery will end if weather conditions deteriorate. Sporadic rain showers covered the crash site on Friday, but the heavy fog that has hampered recovery operations since Tuesday lifted.
Meanwhile on Friday, military officials released the names of seven special forces Marines who were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the waters off Florida during a routine training mission in dense fog.Those killed were all stationed at from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
They were identified Friday as: Capt. Stanford Henry Shaw III of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Master Sgt. Thomas Saunders of Camp Lejeune; Staff Sgt. Liam Flynn of Queens, New York; Staff Sgt. Trevor P. Blaylock of Lake Orion, Michigan; Staff Sgt. Kerry Michael Kemp of Port Washington, Wisconsin; Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif of Holland, Michigan; and Staff Sgt. Marcus Bawol from Warren, Michigan.
All were from the 2nd Special Operations Battalion of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command.
Four Louisiana National Guard soldiers also died in the crash.
According to a press release from the Louisiana National Guard, nine bodies have been retrieved and identified by a medical examiner with the United States military.
As we’ve previously reported, seven U.S. Marines and four soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard were aboard the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the Santa Rosa Sound off Navarre Beach on Tuesday night.
Staff Sgt. Andrew Seif (U.S. Marines, 27-years-old)
Sgt. Marcus Bawol (U.S. Marines, 27-years-old)
Kerry Kemp (U.S. Marines, age and rank not yet public)
Trevor Blaylock (U.S. Marines, age and rank not yet public)
David Strother (Louisiana National Guard, age and rank not yet public)
Staff Sgt. Seif, 27, was a highly-decorated member of the Marine Corps, according to the Detroit Free Press. On Friday, he was awarded the Silver Star — the military’s third-highest award for valor. He’s credited with risking his life to save a wounded team member while both faced heavy enemy fire during a 2012 deployment to Afghanistan.
Brandy Peek told The Associated Press on Thursday that military officials have identified her brother, Marcus Bawol, from the remains recovered after Tuesday night’s crash.
Bawol originally was from Warren, north of Detroit. Peek says her parents were notified of her brother’s death by officials with the Marines. She says her brother “loved everything about the military” and “wanted to fight” for his country.
Lora Waraksa, of Port Washington, says her brother-in-law, Marine Kerry Kemp, died in the crash. Waraksa says his remains have been recovered and her sister, Jenna Kemp, was notified by the Marines of his death overnight.
Waraksa says her brother-in-law was a “proud Marine, a loving husband and most wonderful father.” She says her sister and Kemp have a child about 1 year old. Waraksa says Kemp and her sister met at Port Washington High School. She says he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolin