One United States marine is confirmed dead, two are injured, and eight others are missing after an amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) training accident off the Californian coast. According to American military sources, eight marines were initially rescued after the vehicle sunk during a training exercise, but one later died. Military spokespeople state that the eight missing are presumed dead, and the 40 hour-long search-and-rescue operation involving aircraft and ships has been called off and converted into a body recovery operation. Meanwhile, one of the injured marines is in critical condition while the other is in stable condition.

Officials say that the amphibious assault vehicle had been returning to the USS Somerset, an amphibious transport ship, after operating on the San Clemente Island when the marines reported that the vehicle was taking on water an sinking. The cause of the sinking is still unknown.

Note: Both images in this news article are from the public domain and do not require attribution or citation for commercial purposes.