Search and Rescue Underway for 7 Marines & 4 Soldiers Missing After Army Helicopter Crashes During a Night Training Exercise at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle (Update: Debris Found, Presumed Dead)

There is a search and rescue missing taking place after an Army helicopter crashed last night during a night training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle. According to Andy Bourland, spokesman for Eglin Air Force Base, the Army National Guard helicopter,  a UH-60 Black Hawk, was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and search-and-rescue crews found debris around 2 AM. There were two helicopters involved in the training mission, one returned without incident. The Marines were part of a special operations group based at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and the soldiers were from a Hammond, Louisiana-based National Guard unit. Sadly, this does not look good. Although a search and rescue mission is underway, it appears that all may have died.

Seven Marines and four soldiers were missing early Wednesday after an Army helicopter crashed during a night training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.

The area where the crash happened Tuesday night was under a fog advisory. The area was still extremely foggy Wednesday morning, Eglin public affairs specialist Sara Vidoni said.

FOX News:

Search crews in the Florida Panhandle struggled with dense fog Wednesday morning as they tried to find seven Marines and four soldiers missing after their Black Hawk helicopter crashed late Tuesday night during a routine training exercise.

The Army National Guard helicopter– a UH-60 Black Hawk– was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and search-and-rescue crews found debris around 2 a.m., said Andy Bourland, spokesman for Eglin Air Force Base, outside Pensacola.

“At this time all are missing,” Bourland said. A military official said the 11 service members are presumed dead.

Bourland told “Fox & Friends” that debris was found near the Navarre Bridge, which is located on a small strip of land between Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

UPDATE I: 7 Marines, 4 Soldiers Presumed Dead After Helicopter Crash in Florida.

Seven Marines and four soldiers were presumed dead this morning after going missing Tuesday when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a routine night training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, base officials said

The helicopter was reported missing at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and debris was located at about 2 a.m., base officials said in a statement.

Eglin Air Force Base spokesman Andy Bourland told ABC News that it’s unknown whether weather played a factor.

“There was fog. I do not know at this time if it was a contributing factor, but when our search-and-rescue personnel arrived on scene there was very limited visibility,” he said.

UPDATE II: We have been able to confirm these were MARSOC Marines on board the Blackhawk that crashed.

We have been able to confirm these were MARSOC Marines on board the Blackhawk that crashed, but MARSOC spokesmen Capt. Barry Morris said they are not releasing the names of those on board yet.

There was some debris found around 2:30 Wednesday morning, but none of the seven missing marines or four Louisiana-based missing soldiers have been found.