MILITARY: Marine killed, five saved after assault vehicle sinks at Camp Pendleton

OFF THE WIRE
TERI FIGUEROA and MARK WALKER
 Staff Writers North County Times - The Californian
One Marine died and five others were rescued Friday after the amphibious assault vehicle they were in sank in the Camp Pendleton Del Mar Boat Basin just north of Oceanside, base officials said.
Three students and three instructors were on board when the vehicle sank about 11:30 a.m., officials said. No injuries were reported among the five surviving Marines.
The sixth Marine was recovered about 2:15 p.m. from the sunken LVT-7 Amphibious Assault Vehicle, which operates on land and water. He was taken by a Mercy Air helicopter to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, where he was pronounced dead at 2:47 p.m., the Marine Corps said.
His name was withheld pending notification of his family.
At a briefing late Friday afternoon, Maj. Daniel Thomas, executive officer of the Assault Amphibian Schools Battalion, said the accident occurred shortly after the vehicle entered the water.
The students were on their initial driver training with the instructors when the vehicle went down, he said. He declined to say who was at the helm when the approximately 34-ton vehicle sank about 300 feet offshore in about 40 feet of water.
"This was their initial driver training in the water at the basin in a controlled environment before they go out in the open ocean," Thomas said.
Divers from area rescue agencies worked to pump oxygen into the vehicle as it sat on the bay floor in an effort to keep the submerged Marine alive.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to recover the Marine in time," Thomas said.
He disputed any suggestion that the craft was unsafe or that the Marine Corps' aging amphibious fleet had anything to do with the accident. It was not immediately known how old the vehicle was or whether the base has had similar accidents in recent months.
"It's a safe vehicle," Thomas said. "This has nothing to do with the age of the vehicle."
He also said a second amphibious assault vehicle was in the water at the time.
"The vehicles never operate alone," Thomas said. "We always have two vehicles that go out, so they have a chase vehicle with it. We have two vehicles in the water so that if something does occur, another vehicle can respond. Those procedures were in place."
Maj. Carl Redding at the Marine Corps headquarters in Washington said an investigation will be launched by the school's command.
"These things happen, and commanders there need to make the initial determination of what went wrong," Redding said.
Thomas said there is no immediate hold on amphibious training as a result of the accident.
"The commander will take a look at that and make that decision," he said.
Thomas started his briefing by saying that "unfortunately, we lost a Marine today at the Assault Amphibian School Battalion. We give our condolences to his family and loved ones."
The Del Mar Boat Basin shares an entrance with Oceanside's city harbor. A recreational beach and the Oceanside Harbor are adjacent.
The Marines use the enclosed, armored vehicle to transport troops from ship to shore. The behemoths armed with a machine gun were introduced in 1972, are operated by a crew of three and can carry an additional two dozen Marines.
The vehicles are distinct from the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which the Marine Corps has spent years trying to develop as a replacement.
Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled that vehicle's $15 billion development as part of a major reduction in Pentagon spending. Camp Pendleton has been one of the test sites for the vehicle, where its testing program was headquartered at the Del Mar basin.

Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442. Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.