After a 10-day search and rescue operation, the US Navy has concluded efforts to locate two elite Seals navy force members who disappeared off Somalia’s coast on January 11.
The Seals were involved in intercepting a dhow carrying weapons when one of them fell into rough waters during the boarding process.
The second Seal attempted a rescue but neither resurfaced.
“We regret to announce that after a 10-day exhaustive search, our two missing US Navy Seals have not been located and their status has been changed to deceased,” the US Central Command said on Sunday, adding that it was “now conducting recovery operations”.
Japanese and Spanish forces, along with ships and aircraft, aided in the search, covering over 21,000 square miles in the Gulf of Aden.
The Seals were part of a naval unit focused on intercepting illegal shipments in the region, unrelated to the ongoing operation protecting vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group.