A service member is missing after a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed Friday evening off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon said.

The helicopter crashed while the crew was training about 20 miles off the southern coast of the country, according to a statement released late Friday by U.S. Central Command.

Five troops who were also aboard the chopper at the time of the accident were rescued, the release said.

"U.S. forces in the region are conducting an ongoing search for one U.S. service member who was aboard the aircraft," it states.

The incident is under investigation.

A small team of U.S. Special Forces troops has been on the ground in the midst of Yemen's civil war in support of an operation against the Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group.

The U.S. troops are limited to advisory and intelligence work, but they could be drawn into conflict in self-defense, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said earlier this month.

The American team has been supporting an offensive by forces of the United Arab Emirates and the ousted government of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The partnered forces are moving against AQAP strongholds in the Shabwah governorate.

U.S. forces have conducted scores of airstrikes in Yemen and carried out occasional ground raids since Jan. 29, when a Navy SEAL -- Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill. -- was killed in the first military operation authorized by President Donald Trump. Three other SEALs were wounded and a Marine MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft was destroyed in the operation.

Since Feb. 28, the U.S. has carried out at least 80 airstrikes in Yemen, including close-air support for UAE and Yemeni government forces.

The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan with several hundred Marines aboard is also operating in the region.

-- Richard Sisk contributed to this report.

-- Brendan McGarry can be reached at brendan.mcgarry@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Brendan_McGarry.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen on Friday during a training mission and a search was under way for one U.S. service member, the U.S. military said.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that five other service members aboard the aircraft had been rescued after the crash, which took place about 20 miles (32 km) off the southern coast of Yemen at 7 p.m. (16000 GMT).

A U.S. official told Reuters that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

“When the incident took place the helicopter was not very high above the water,” CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

The United States has been carrying out air strikes against al Qaeda in Yemen, with at least 80 launched since the end of February.

A small number of ground raids using U.S. Special Operations forces have also taken place, including one in January which resulted in the death of a U.S. Navy Seal.

There have been a number of aviation mishaps involving U.S military aircraft in the past few months.

The U.S. Coast Guard recently said that it had suspended its search off Hawaii for five Army aviators missing since their Black Hawk helicopter crashed earlier this month.

In April, a Black Hawk U.S. Army helicopter crashed on a Maryland golf course, killing one crewmember and seriously injuring two others.

Last month, a military transport plane crash killing 16 service members including elite special operations forces in northern Mississippi.</s>One U.S. service member is missing after a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Yemen's coast Friday.

U.S. forces in the area are searching for the missing service member, who was aboard the aircraft, according to U.S. Central Command. U.S. forces rescued the five other service members who were on board. Their condition is unclear.

The crash, which officials are describing as a training accident, happened about 20 miles off the southern coast of Yemen at about 7 p.m. local time.

An investigation will be conducted, according to CENTCOM. At this point, it's unclear what caused the crash.

The crash isn't the first one for a military helicopter in 2017.

Earlier this month, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crash off the coast of Hawaii left five soldiers missing, ultimately forcing the Army to suspend its search and presume the soldiers dead.

In April, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into a Maryland golf course, leaving one person dead and two injured.</s>A US Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen on Friday during a training mission and a search was under way for one US service member, the US military said.

US Central Command said in a statement that five other service members aboard the aircraft had been rescued after the crash, which took place about 20 miles (32 km) off the southern coast of Yemen at 7 pm (16000 GMT).

A US official told Reuters that the cause of the crash was under investigation.

“When the incident took place the helicopter was not very high above the water,” CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

The United States has been carrying out air strikes against al Qaeda in Yemen, with at least 80 launched since the end of February.

A small number of ground raids using US Special Operations forces have also taken place, including one in January which resulted in the death of a US Navy Seal.

There have been a number of aviation mishaps involving U.S military aircraft in the past few months.

The US Coast Guard recently said that it had suspended its search off Hawaii for five Army aviators missing since their Black Hawk helicopter crashed earlier this month.

In April, a Black Hawk US Army helicopter crashed on a Maryland golf course, killing one crewmember and seriously injuring two others.</s>A U.S. service member is missing after a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off Yemen’s coast Friday, according to CBS News.

U.S. forces in the area are searching for the missing service member, who was aboard the aircraft, according to U.S. Central Command. U.S. forces rescued the five other service members who were on board.

Officials say the crash is a training accident and happened around 7 p.m. local time.

It’s unclear what caused the crash at this time.

Earlier this month, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crash off the coast of Hawaii, leaving five soldiers missing. The Army suspended its search and presumed the soldiers dead.</s>WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen on Friday during training, with a search underway for one U.S. service member, the U.S. military said.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that five other service members aboard the aircraft had been rescued and the crash took place about 20 miles (32 km) off the southern coast of Yemen at 7 p.m. local time on Friday.

Central Command said an investigation would be initiated. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Michael Perry)</s>U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilots assigned to Task Force Flying Dragons, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, 7th Infantry Division land at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 9, 2017.

A U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed Friday while training off the coast of Yemen, a U.S. Central Command statement said.

One servicemember remains missing, while five others aboard the aircraft were rescued by U.S. forces immediately after the crash. A search is ongoing.

The crash, which occurred around 7 p.m.local time, took place approximately 20 miles off Yemen's southern coast, the statement said.

This story will be updated.</s>U.S. Service Member Still Missing After Helicopter Crashes Off Yemen

A service member remains missing after a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen during what officials described as a training exercise.

U.S. forces rescued five other troops who also went down in the crash and are still searching for the sixth service member, according to U.S. Central Command. The incident took place about 20 miles from the southeastern coast of Yemen around 7 p.m. local time Friday.

Officials said they would begin an investigation.

CENTCOM didn't provide the identities of any of the service members involved, nor any details concerning why the accident happened. Spokesman Col. John Thomas, however, told Reuters, "when the incident took place the helicopter was not very high above the water."

The U.S. is waging a campaign against an arm of the al-Qaida terrorist group that has secured, in the words of U.S. officials, a "heavy" presence in Yemen. U.S. forces have launched more than 80 airstrikes in the region since late February.

The Trump administration's efforts to combat al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula began with controversy. A raid at the end of January that killed 14 al-Qaida militants, 23 civilians and one American Navy SEAL, was deemed a "failure" by Sen. John McCain and defended as a "winning mission" by President Trump.

As NPR has reported, Yemen is in the midst of a brutal civil war that, by the United Nations' count, has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people. The country is also facing a cholera outbreak, which Save the Children estimates has produced more than 425,000 suspected cases.

Friday's crash comes days after the U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for five missing Army soldiers after two Black Hawk helicopters collided off the coast of Hawaii.</s>U.S. officials say a Black Hawk helicopter has crashed off the southern coast of Yemen while training its crew.

In a statement issued by U.S. Central Command, officials say one U.S. service member is missing and five others aboard the craft have been rescued.

The crash took place Friday evening. Officials say the accident is under investigation.

Yemen is located in the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.</s>An American service member is missing after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the southern coast of Yemen on Friday evening in what US military officials are calling a training accident.

Five others aboard the aircraft were rescued, officials said in a statement issued by US Central Command.

A search is ongoing for the missing service member and the crash is under investigation.

Officials haven't released the names of those on board or the unit to which the helicopter belongs.

Asked if the crash involved another special forces raid, Central Command told The Associated Press that 'this was a routine training event specifically for US military personnel'.

'Training events such as this are routinely held by US forces within a theater of operations in order to maintain their proficiency within the operating environment,' the agency said in a statement. 'Commanders deemed this location appropriate and safe for a routine training event, considering both the operational environment and weather conditions at the time.'

Yemen, located on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, is the Arab world's poorest country and is engulfed in a yearslong civil war.

The war pits Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies against a Saudi-led coalition backing the country's internationally recognized government. The US has provided targeting and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition, which faces criticism over its airstrikes killing civilians caught up in the conflict.

Yemen is also home to what the US considers the most dangerous branch of the al-Qaida terror network. US special forces backed with Emirati troops launched a raid in Yemen in January under President Donald Trump that killed a US Navy SEAL and 30 other people, including women, children and an estimated 14 militants.
An American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter on a training mission crashes off the coast of Yemen with six aboard, five of whom have been rescued. The search continues for the other U.S. service member.