Marines were conducting "routine" training when helicopters crashed off Hawaii coast

Two Marine Corps heavy lift helicopters that crashed off the coast of Hawaii were conducting a routine training flight with only their aircrews aboard when they apparently collided late Thursday just before midnight. The U.S. Coast Guard was searching a debris field early Friday afternoon about 2.5 miles off of the north-facing coast of Oahu, near the town of Haleiwa for the 12 missing Marines and the remnants of their CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, said Lt. Scott Carr, a Coast Guard spokesman. “There are no signs of survivors right now,” he said. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin search-and-rescue helicopter crew located the debris field just after midnight. High surf in the crash area was expected to complicate the search and rescue effort.