Search for missing US Marines becomes recovery effort after crash off Australia

A handout photo made available by the US Marine Corps shows recovery efforts for three US marines involved in the August 5 MV-22 Osprey mishap off the east coast of Australia. EPA / Sarah Villegas

The US Navy and Marine Corps suspended their search and rescue efforts on Sunday for three US Marines missing after their aircraft crashed into the sea off Australia's northeast coast a day earlier, the US Marine Corps said.

The Marine Corps said they had shifted to recovery efforts in co-ordination with the Australian Defence Force, which could last several months, and had notified the next-of-kin of the three missing Marines.

"The transition comes after teams led continuous sustained search efforts supported by aircraft and ships," the III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Okinawa, Japan, said.

"As the sea state permits, recovery efforts will be conducted to further search, assess and survey the area," they said in a statement.

The US Marines have described the incident involving the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft as a "mishap" and said it was under investigation.

Ospreys have been involved in incidents resulting in deaths or injuries in recent years.

Twenty-three other personnel aboard the aircraft had been rescued. Australian emergency officials said one person had been taken to hospital in Rockhampton in northeastern Queensland state but gave no other details.

"All other personnel are accounted for and safe," the III Marine Expeditionary Force said on Twitter.

The incident happened off the coast of Shoalwater Bay in Queensland at about 4pm local time on Saturday, the Marine Corps said. They called off the search at about 3am on Sunday.

'Benign' weather

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology described wind, swell and atmospheric conditions at the time of the incident as "benign".

"There was a light north-easterly wind with high cloud … but that would have had no impact whatsoever on conditions at the surface," meteorologist Michael Paech said.

The aircraft that crashed had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) amphibious assault ship and was on regular operations when it hit the water, according to the Marines Corps. Boats and aircraft on the ship immediately began search-and-rescue efforts.

US president Donald Trump, who was on his first full day of vacation at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, was briefed on the crash by his chief of staff, retired Marine Corps Gen John Kelly, a White House official said.

The Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group was in Australia to participate in joint training manoeuvres involving more than 33,000 US and Australian military personnel, which ended two weeks ago.

"On behalf of all Queenslanders, our prayers are with those US military personnel involved in the incident," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

The exercises in the Coral Sea included the participation of MV-22 Ospreys practising the deployment of US Marine reconnaissance teams.

The Osprey, built by Boeing Co and Textron Inc's Bell Helicopter unit, is designed to take off like a helicopter and rotate its propellers to fly like a plane.

Its development was nearly cancelled after the deaths of 23 Marines during flight testing in 2000, but its speed and range have made it very popular in recent years.

In December, the US military grounded its Osprey fleet in Japan after one of the aircraft ditched into the sea, injuring its crew of five, when a hose connected to the aircraft broke during a refuelling exercise.