Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A search was under way Wednesday night for a U.S. sailor who fell overboard from an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
The sailor fell from the USS Kitty Hawk at 4:22 a.m. PST, and a search and rescue operation was begun immediately, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Don Sewell, a Pentagon spokesman. Repeated helicopter searches and several dives found no sign of the sailor.
"We don’t know how long the search is going to continue at this point," Sewell said late Wednesday. "But we are still proceeding as though the sailor is alive."
It was not known how the sailor fell overboard, Sewell said.
The sailor was not identified because his family had not yet been notified.
The Kitty Hawk is supporting the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. The carrier is part of a three-ship battle group being used as a helicopter base for special operations troops.
Before Wednesday, three American servicemen had been reported killed since the U.S.-led airstrikes against the Taliban and terrorist groups in Afghanistan began on Oct. 7.
Two Army Rangers were killed when their Black Hawk crashed in Pakistan on Oct. 19 during support for a special forces raid in Afghanistan, the first combat-related deaths in the campaign. Military officials have not released details of the Black Hawk’s mission, but some believed it was preparing to cross into Afghanistan in the event any Army Rangers had to be rescued.
Master Sgt. Evander Earl Andrews was killed Oct. 10 in a heavy equipment accident Qatar.
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