A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Sunday that two U.S. service members missing in Morocco fell off a cliff into the ocean in what’s being described as a hiking accident. They were in the North African country for training exercises.
The incident began at a base in southern Morocco, where personnel later reported aircraft scouring the area where the Sahara meets the Atlantic. Officials said the soldiers were off duty and not taking part in the exercise when they fell; defense officials later confirmed the missing service members are both in the U.S. Army. Their names have not been released.
More than 5,000 personnel from over 40 nations were at the exercise, which has included a focus on drones, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence; many of those personnel shifted from training to join the search-and-rescue effort. The search is ongoing, and U.S. officials described the event as a hiking accident.