Pendleton Marines responded to British crash

By: Darrin Mortenson - North County Times | Monday, January 31, 2005 9:36 PM PST ∞

NAJAF, Iraq ---- Camp Pendleton Marines were the first troops on the scene of a crash Sunday of a British C-130 Hercules transport plane north of Baghdad, military officials said Monday.

Ten British troops were missing and presumed dead Monday.

Although military officials have not given a cause for the crash, an Iraqi insurgent group has taken credit for shooting down the propeller-driven cargo plane.

A 24-member specially trained search and rescue team from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the force with responsibility for Najaf and Karbala provinces, was flown from Taqaddum air field, northwest of Fallujah, to the crash site, just north of Baghdad near the city of Baqouba.

The Marines and an Army Special Forces team secured the crash site for investigators and recovery crews, Marine officials in Najaf said Monday. Najaf is about 100 miles southwest of Baghdad.

The Marine "tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel team" ---- or "TRAP" ---- had been flown to the Taqaddum base especially for the elections, said Maj. Coby Moran, a spokesman for the expeditionary unit.

The Marines "recognized that there would be increased aircraft sorties during election week," Moran said Monday.

"They called on the 11th MEU because they were probably less engaged (involved in less combat) than our forces around Fallujah and because they were trained to do it," he said.

The 24-man team graduated from a two-week rescue and recovery course at Camp Pendleton before deploying from San Diego in late May, Moran said.

They are due to complete their mission at the crash site and return to their unit near Najaf sometime today, Moran said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact staff writer Darrin Mortenson at dmortenson@nctimes.com.

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