Two US Navy sailors missing after operations off coast of Somalia, search ops underway

A search and rescue mission was underway Friday after two U.S. Navy sailors went missing while on duty off the coast of Somalia, U.S. Central Command said via a statement. Details remain scarce as recovery efforts continue in the region.

U.S. Central Command releases statement on missing navy sailors 

Here is the complete statement by the Central Command

“On the evening of January 11, two U.S. Navy Sailors were reported missing at sea while conducting operations off the coast of Somalia. Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing to locate the two sailors. For operational security purposes, we will not release additional information until the personnel recovery operation is complete.

Out of respect for the families affected, we will not release further information on the missing personnel at this time.

The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions.”

The US has been deploying more ships to the unstable Red Sea region since the Iran-backed Houthi rebels started attacking ships sailing from the Red Sea, starting from October 17.