US military helicopter being pulled from Florida waters

The crash earlier this week took the lives of seven Marines and four soldiers

(AP Images)

Crews are working on Friday to remove the wreckage of a US military helicopter from the shallow waters off the Florida coast, after the aircraft crashed earlier this week and took with it the lives of 11 members of the US military.

The UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was carrying seven Marines and four soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard on a training mission when it vanished around 8:30 pm on Tuesday.

To recover the helicopter, crews are using a salvage barge assisted by military divers, according to a report from Reuters. In the crash, the helicopter broke into multiple pieces. Sonar equipment found the wrecked helicopter on Wednesday in water about 25-feet deep.

No specific information has been provided on what may have caused the helicopter to crash, but dense fog had flooded the area where it went down. The military is expected to conduct an investigation into the crash.

Time reported that nine bodies have been identified so far.

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