Search continues for crashed Black Hawk helicopter with 11 service men aboard

U.S. military crews struggled to carry out a search-and-rescue operations Wednesday afternoon after an army Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training session Tuesday night in Florida, with seven Marines and four soldiers on board.

A spokesman at Eglin Air Force Base, near which the helicopter crashed overnight, confirmed Wednesday military crews were still in search-and-rescue mode though heavy fog hampered the efforts.

"There is always room for optimism," said Eglin spokesman Mike Spaits. "The fog has been hampering our search efforts, and more fog is continuing to roll in."

A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had earlier said the 11 service men were presumed dead.

Searching crews had found helicopters debris and human remains connected to the crashed Army helicopter Wednesday morning.

Two helicopters participated in the night training Tuesday. The Black Hawk helicopter was reported missing due to foggy conditions at around 8:30 pm Tuesday. The other helicopter returned safely to the base.

Major General Glenn Curtis of the Louisiana National Guard told reporters that after taking off, the other helicopter turned around and came back to the air base because of bad weather. Endite