U.S. Coast Guard responders have found the debris field of a Puerto Rico National Guard helicopter that went down Monday night off the northern coast of Puerto Rico but are still searching for survivors.
The Coast Guard was notified about the crash Monday evening by the Puerto Rican National Guard. The helicopter, which left from Rio Grande, was part of its Army Aviation Unit and was carrying six people — four Puerto Rican National Guardsmen and two attorneys from Puerto Rico’s Justice Department, who were en route to the former Roosevelt Roads naval station in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, according to a release from the Coast Guard.
A 45-foot Coast Guard response boat located the helicopter’s debris field around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Along with helicopter surveillance, the Coast Guard has deployed two cutters, Reef Shark and Farallon. Emergency responders from the Puerto Rico National Guard, maritime police, Emergency Management and Justice Department have also joined in the search for survivors, the release said.
In a statement issued from her office Tuesday night, V.I. Delegate Donna Christensen said she had reached out to Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi in the wake of the crash.
"I was saddened to hear about the loss of life after the unfortunate crash of a Puerto Rico National Guard helicopter on Monday,” Delegate Christensen wrote in a letter to Pierluisi. "Please accept the condolences and best wishes of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of this untimely incident…. It is truly unfortunate that this tragedy has unfolded in the midst of the Christmas holiday.”
News reports have said those aboard the helicopter were on an anti-drug mission to Vieques, according to the release from Christensen’s office.