The five Marines aboard a helicopter that went missing and was later found to have crashed in California are dead, the U.S. military says

The Marines were flying from Nevada to San Diego for a routine training exercise when the helicopter went missing.

The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter was later found crashed in a snowy mountainous region on Wednesday .

The U.S. military did not identify the five deceased Marines as policy requires their identities to remain concealed until next-of-kin have been notified.