Search-and-rescue efforts have been suspended for three U.S. Marines missing after the tilt-rotor aircraft they were in crashed into the sea off of Australia Saturday, the U.S. military said.
"The transition comes after teams led continuous sustained search efforts supported by aircraft and ships," the Marine Corps Base Camp Butler in Okinawa said in a statement.
Twenty-three of the 26 personnel aboard the Osprey heli-plane have been rescued, NBC News reported.
The aircraft was conducting regularly scheduled operations when it crashed into the sea. Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had been briefed on the situation and had spoken with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis.