The U.S. Military announced on Sunday afternoon that two Navy SEALs that went missing nearly two weeks ago during a mission off the coast of Africa are now presumed dead.
The SEALs were conducting a nighttime interdiction mission on January 11 where they were climbing up onto a vessel when one got knocked off by powerful ocean waves. Following protocol, the next Navy SEAL up jumped into the water to help rescue him.
“We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing U.S. Navy SEALs have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “The search and rescue operation for the two Navy SEALs reported missing during the boarding of an illicit dhow carrying Iranian advanced conventional weapons Jan. 11 concluded and we are now conducting recovery operations.”
CENTCOM said that Japan and Spain joined the U.S. in searching for the two SEALs, covering more than 21,000 square miles. Additional support was provided by the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command, University of San Diego – Scripts Institute of Oceanography, and the Office of Naval Research – Oceanographic Support.
General Michale Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM Commander, said in a statement, “We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time.”