A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter has crashed near El Centro, California, Tuesday afternoon during a routine training mission and the military says all four aboard are presumed dead.

"Four crew members were aboard" the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said in a statement. "The status of all four is presumed dead pending positive identification."

The helicopter went down at about 2:35 p.m. local time, the statement said. El Centro is about 100 miles east of San Diego.

The cause of the crash is being investigated, the statement said.

Earlier, Reach Air Medical quickly dispatched two helicopters to the crash site, a spokesperson, Donnie Wharton, told The Desert Review.

The newspaper describes the Super Stallion as "a heavy lift operator with three engines, seven blades [that] can carry up to 50 combat-ready [Marines] or 30,000 pounds of cargo." </s> A Marine helicopter crashed during a Southern California training mission and all four crew members were believed killed, the military said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near El Centro, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station in San Diego, according to a base press statement.

The nearby Naval Air Facility El Centro messaged that the crash site was north of Plaster City, west of El Centro.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. </s> A Marine Corps helicopter crashed Tuesday in California during a routine training mission and all four crew members aboard are presumed dead.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed near the city of El Centro, which is near the Mexico border, around 2:35 p.m., according to a statement from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The four crew members' identities have not been released yet pending 24 hours after notifying their families.

The CH-53 helicopters are used to transport heavy equipment and supplies, and are capable of lifting 16 tons, according to the Marines website. </s> The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter crashed near the city of El Centro, which is near the Mexico border, around 2:35 p.m., according to a statement from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The four crew members' identities have not been released yet pending 24 hours after notifying their families.

The CH-53 helicopters are used to transport heavy equipment and supplies, and are capable of lifting 16 tons, according to the Marines website. </s> SAN DIEGO — A Marine helicopter has crashed during a Southern California training mission and authorities believe all four crew members were killed.

The military says the CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near El Centro.

The helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station near San Diego.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Authorities aren’t releasing the names of the victims or their home towns. </s> Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

SAN DIEGO — A Marine helicopter crashed during a Southern California training mission and all four crew members were believed to be killed, the military said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near El Centro, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station in San Diego, according to a base press statement.

The nearby Naval Air Facility El Centro messaged that the crash site was north of Plaster City, west of El Centro.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The names of the crewmembers will be withheld until 24 hours after their relatives are notified, the Miramar base said.

Tuesday's California crash is the deadliest involving a Marine aircraft since a KC130T transport plane went down in Mississippi last July, killing 15 Marines and a sailor.

The California crash also occurred on the same day that a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti. The pilot managed to eject and was being medically evaluated, military officials said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the U.S. military. It is used for minesweeping and transport and can carry dozens of troops and tons of cargo.

Two years ago, 12 Marines died when two of the helicopters collided off the coast of Oahu in Hawaii.

Last October, a CH-53E helicopter crashed and burned in Okinawa but nobody was injured.

In 2005, 31 people died when a CH-53E helicopter went down in Iraq during a sandstorm. </s> On Tuesday, a CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m., during a training mission near El Centro, Calif.

FILE - In this Saturday Oct. 10, 2009, file photo, a U.S. military helicopter, the CH-53E Super Stallion, airlifts humanitarian aid to be dropped in affected regions around Pariaman, north of Padang, Indonesia. On Tuesday, April 3, 2018, a CH-53E Super Stallion similar to the one shown went down shortly after 2:30 p.m., during a training mission near El Centro, Calif., a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

A Marine helicopter crashed during a Southern California training mission and all four crew members were believed killed, the military said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near El Centro, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station in San Diego, according to a base press statement.

The nearby Naval Air Facility El Centro messaged that the crash site was north of Plaster City, west of El Centro.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The names of the crewmembers will be withheld until 24 hours after their relatives are notified, the Miramar base said.

Tuesday’s California crash is the deadliest involving a Marine aircraft since a KC130T transport plane went down in Mississippi last July, killing 15 Marines and a sailor.

The California crash also occurred on the same day that a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti. The pilot managed to eject and was being medically evaluated, military officials said.

Related: Five dead after helicopter crash in New York City’s East River

The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the U.S. military. It is used for minesweeping and transport and can carry dozens of troops and tons of cargo.

Two years ago, 12 Marines died when two of the helicopters collided off the coast of Oahu in Hawaii.

Last October, a CH-53E helicopter crashed and burned in Okinawa but nobody was injured.

In 2005, 31 people died when a CH-53E helicopter went down in Iraq during a sandstorm.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> Four people are presumed dead after a Marine helicopter crashed during a training mission in Southern California.

The CH-53E Super Stallion went down shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday near El Centro, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The helicopter was with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing out of the Miramar air station in San Diego, according to a base press statement.

The nearby Naval Air Facility El Centro messaged that the crash site was north of Plaster City, west of El Centro.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The names of the crewmembers will be withheld until 24 hours after their relatives are notified, the Miramar base said.

Tuesday's California crash is the deadliest involving a Marine aircraft since a KC130T transport plane went down in Mississippi last July, killing 15 Marines and a sailor.

The California crash also occurred on the same day that a Marine Harrier jet crashed during takeoff from an airport in the East African nation of Djibouti.

The pilot managed to eject and was being medically evaluated, military officials said.

The CH-53E Super Stallion is the largest helicopter in the U.S. military. It is used for minesweeping and transport and can carry dozens of troops and tons of cargo.

Two years ago, 12 Marines died when two of the helicopters collided off the coast of Oahu in Hawaii.

Last October, a CH-53E helicopter crashed and burned in Okinawa but nobody was injured.

In 2005, 31 people died when a CH-53E helicopter went down in Iraq during a sandstorm. </s> EL CENTRO, Calif. -- The four Marines who died in a Marine Corps helicopter crash during a training mission in El Centro Tuesday have been identified.

Military officials say Capt. Samuel A. Schultz, 28, of Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania; First Lt. Samuel D. Phillips, 27, of Pinehurst, North Carolina; Gunnery Sgt. Derik Holley, 33, of Dayton, Ohio; and Lance Cpl. Taylor J. Conrad, 24, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, all died in the crash.

According to officials, the CH-53E Stallion helicopter took off from the Strategic Expeditionary Landing Field at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms to conduct squadron training.
• Miramar Marine killed in helo crash was a husband and father

The crash happened roughly 15 miles west of El Centro around 2:35 p.m. Tuesday.

The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter carrying US Marines crashes near El Centro, California killing four people.