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12 Marines go missing after 'routine' training mission
00:53 - Source: KGMB KHNL

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NEW: When the search ends late Tuesday, an area the size of Florida will have been searched

Surfers and those along the coast are warned about possible debris

CNN  — 

The U.S. Coast Guard will stop actively searching for the 12 Marines who went missing when the two helicopters carrying them apparently crashed off the coast of Hawaii last week. The search suspension goes into effect at sunset Tuesday.

No survivors have been found nor bodies reported recovered.

“A decision to suspend searching without finding survivors is extremely difficult given the depth of its impact. … Our thoughts and prayers are with Marine Corps helicopter squadron and particularly with families and loved ones of those missing,” said Coast Guard Capt. Jim Jenkins in a written statement.

A witness last Thursday saw a fireball in midair; another reported seeing a flare. The U.S. Marine Corps notified the the Coast Guard that two CH-53 copters, carrying six men each, were missing. A search ensued involving the Navy, the National Guard, as well as Hawaii fire, police and Ocean Safety.

When the search is officially suspended at sunset Tuesday in Hawaii, a total of 130 rescue personnel will have covered 40,530 nautical square miles, an area about the size of Florida, in a 115-hour search effort, the Coast Guard said.

Any follow-up actions will be left up to the Marine Corps.

No mayday call received

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion

The 12 missing Marines and their helicopters were on a training flight when they all appeared to go down. No mayday call was received, just word that something had gone wrong, the Coast Guard said.

Searchers spotted a fire and debris field, including an empty life raft, about two and a half miles north of Haleiwa Beach and later found floating pieces of debris consistent with military aircraft.

Eventually, all four life rafts believed to be on board were retrieved.

“There is no indication from the sightings that any survivors have been aboard any of the life rafts,” the Coast Guard said after four days of searching.

A Navy ship equipped with sonar arrived Sunday and conducted an underwater search. No additional debris was sighted. Searchers overlapped each others’ areas to provide multiple perspectives and put fresh eyes on them.

It warned people along the coast to alert the Marines if they find any debris along the coast. The area is a popular surfing destination and surfers were told to avoid any debris in the water.

The Coast Guard, Navy and Honolulu emergency services have conducted some two dozen searches covering more than 5,700 square miles, the Coast Guard said, but so far they have turned up no sign of the missing Marines.

Corps names Marines

Maj. Shawn Campbell, left, and Cpl. Matthew Drown

The Marine Corps has named the 12 missing men. Base Hawaii named them as:

Maj. Shawn M. Campbell, 41, College Station, Texas

Cpl. Matthew R. Drown, 23, Spring, Texas

Lance Cpl. Ty L. Hart, 21, Aumsville, Oregon

Cpl. Thomas J. Jardas, 22, Fort Myers, Florida

Capt. Brian T. Kennedy, 31, Philadelphia

Cpl. Christopher J. Orlando, 23, Hingham, Massachusetts

Capt. Kevin T. Roche, 30, St. Louis

Sgt. Dillon J. Semolina, 24, Chaska, Minnesota

Sgt. Adam C. Schoeller, 25, Gardners, Pennsylvania

Sgt. Jeffrey A. Sempler, 22, Woodruff, South Carolina

Capt. Steven R. Torbert, 29, Florence, Alabama

Sgt. William J. Turner, 25, Florala, Alabama

Reported missing

Cpl. Christopher Orlando

Semolina’s high school principal said he heard Friday about the crash.

“You know my heart dropped there,” Matt Schoen told CNN affiliate WCCO. “It was not a good feeling and again you immediately turn to hope and prayers and thoughts that there is a successful rescue mission.”

He said Semolina was “a great kid. He always was jovial. He always joked around he had a great smile on his face,” Schoen said.

Schoeller’s family released a statement. “We value all of the thoughts and prayers offered up on our behalf during this very difficult time.”

The family of Cpl. Christopher Orlando, 23, of Hingham, Massachusetts, said he was aboard one of the helicopters.

Capt. Kevin Roche

Roche’s family described him as a passionate Marine. “We are grateful to everyone involved in the rescue,” they said in a statement.

Maj. Shawn Campbell, 41 was in the collision, said his mother, Donna McGrew, of Houston. A Marine officer visited her at home to brief her. Campbell has a wife and four children, and has done three tours of duty in the Middle East.

“My heart just breaks, there are 11 other families going through this now. God bless them,” McGrew said.

CNN’s Melissa Gray, Tina Burnside, Dana Ford, Dave Alsup, Barbara Starr, Michael Martinez and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.