MA Native Among 5 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Egypt Helicopter Crash

MARLBOROUGH, MA — A Massachusetts native was among five American soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Egypt Thursday. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marwan Ghabour, 27, was from Marlborough.

The other Americans killed were Capt. Seth Vernon Vandekamp, 31, of Katy, Texas; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dallas Gearld Garza, 34, of Fayetteville, N.C.; Staff Sgt. Kyle Robert McKee, 35, of Painesville, Ohio; and Sgt. Jeremy Cain Sherman, 23, of Watseka, Ill. An American peacekeeper survived the crash and is hospitalized in Israel with serious injuries, CNN reported.

A French national and Czech national were also killed.

The group was onboard a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the southern Sinai Peninsula Thursday. The cause of the crash is believed to be a mechanical malfunction.

"The Defense Department is deeply saddened by the loss of five U.S. and two partner nation service members in a helicopter crash in the Sinai Peninsula operating with the United Nations Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)," Acting US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said. "I extend the Department's condolences to the families, friends and teammates of these service members."

The soldiers were part of a peacekeeping force in Egypt.