“The United States Marine Corps confirms there is an active search and rescue operation ongoing for service members involved in an MV-22 mishap off the east coast of Australia,” said the US Marine Corps in a statement. RELATED: The longest active Marine on duty just ended his career with a celebration fit for an American hero

It’s been termed a “mishap.” While 23 of the 26 personnel on board were rescued, three are still missing. The "ship's small boats and aircraft from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group are conducting the search and rescue operations," tweeted III Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Japan. “The aircraft involved in the mishap had launched from the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and was conducting regularly scheduled operations when the aircraft entered the water,” the USMC said in a statement. The unit was in Australia as part of a regularly scheduled deployment. The V-22 Osprey is a combination aircraft, says its maker Boeing, with helicopterlike rotors allowing it to hover; once airborne, it can convert to a fixed-wing plane capable of high speeds and altitudes. Saturday's incident comes a few weeks after a Marine Corps refueling aircraft crashed in Mississippi, killing all 16 people aboard. This is a breaking story, please check back in for updates. We will update as the situation develops.
Searches are underway for three members of the United States Marine Corps missing after a MV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. Twenty three of the twenty six people on board have been rescued.