Two Navy SEALs have gone missing off the coast of Somalia after they conducted a nighttime mission on Thursday.
According to three US officials who talked to the Associated Press, the SEALs were on a nighttime boarding mission when one was climbing up a vessel and was knocked into the sea by the waves of the ocean and another went in after him.
A statement made by US Central Command on Friday stated, “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.”
“The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions,” the statement continued.
The Gulf of Aden waters, where the team had been operating, is relatively warm, other officials said.
The SEALs had not been involved in the ongoing mission related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the new mission to curb attacks that have been taking place in the Red Sea.
US Central Command wrote that they would release more details until the operation is complete.
Officials who spoke to the AP did so on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details that have not been made public.