Five US service members killed in Mediterranean plane crash

EUCOM did not specify type of plane or where it was flying from, but US deployed carrier strike group to area amid Israel-Hamas war

By AFP
November 13, 2023
This shows a US Navys P-8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane circling during a Philippine coast guards mission in the South China Sea on November 10, 2023. — AFP
This shows a US Navy's P-8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane circling during a Philippine coast guard's mission in the South China Sea on November 10, 2023. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Five American service members were killed when a military aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean during a training exercise, the US European Command (EUCOM) said on Sunday.

EUCOM did not specify the type of plane or where it was flying from, but the United States has deployed a carrier strike group to the area as part of efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a regional conflict.

“During a routine air refueling mission as part of military training, a US military aircraft carrying five service members suffered a mishap and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. All five of the service members onboard the aircraft were killed,” EUCOM said in a statement on the November 10 accident. Washington rushed military support to Israel and bolstered its forces in the region -- including with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and other warships -- after the

Hamas militant group carried out a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7 that Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people.

Israel´s military responded with a relentless air, land and naval assault on Gaza that the territory´s health ministry said has left more than 11,000 people dead.