Marine From USS Iwo Jima Declared Lost at Sea in MOB Incident
Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. Marine Corps reported that a Marine had been declared lost at sea after falling overboard from the amphib USS Iwo Jima, which is currently deployed in the Caribbean for operations related to Venezuela. It is the first reported death in connection with the large-scale, multi-ship deployment.
The deceased has been identified as rifleman Lance Corporal Chukwuemeka Oforah, age 21. II Marine Expeditionary Forces reported that he went over the side on February 7, and that five nearby vessels and 10 aircraft searched for him for 72 hours. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps units all contributed to the search effort.
Oforah was attached to a landing team in the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), part of the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group. Details of the MOB incident were not released, and an investigation is under way.
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"The loss of Lance Cpl. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten," said 22nd MEU commander Col. Tom Trimble in a statement.
USS Iwo Jima is a Wasp-class "big deck" amphib commissioned in 2001. She played a role in the raid that resulted in the seizure of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, and was the landing pad for the returning helicopter flight that brought him into U.S. custody.