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US Army helicopter crash: Five missing after Black Hawk goes down off Hawaii

A US Army Black Hawk helicopter. File picture - EPA
A US Army Black Hawk helicopter. File picture - EPA

US Coast Guard and military crews are searching the ocean off Hawaii for five crew members of an Army helicopter that reportedly went down during a training exercise.

Officials at Wheeler Army Airfield, near Honolulu, reported losing communications with the crew of a UH-60 Black Hawk at around 10pm local time on Tuesday (9am BST).

Responding teams reported spotting debris about two miles west of Kaena Point, Oahu, around 90 minutes later.

A plane, two helicopters and several boats were being used in the search .

Two Black Hawk crews were conducting training between Kaena Point and Oahu's Dillingham Airfield at the time communications were lost, officials said.

The crash happened west of Kaena Point, near Honolulu

Night training offshore is routine, said Lt Col Curtis Kellogg, public affairs officer for the Army's 25th Infantry Division.

The search began immediately after one aircrew lost visual and video contact with the other helicopter, Lt Col Kellogg said.

The two helicopters are elements of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine utility helicopter manufactured for the Army by Sikorsky Aircraft starting in the 1970s. Kaena Point is northwest of Honolulu.