WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Five U.S. service members were killed on Friday when the aircraft carrying them on a refueling training mission crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. Defense Department said on Sunday.
Search and rescue operations involving nearby U.S. military aircraft and ships immediately followed the crash and an investigation into its cause is underway, U.S. European Command said in a statement.
U.S. European Command, which handles American military operations in Europe and parts of the Middle East, reported the accident on Saturday.
Identities of the victims will not be released until next of kin notifications are completed, it said.
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences in a statement on Sunday.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Scott Malone and Grant McCool)
