The Navy has identified the pair of Navy SEAL operators who fell into the water and went missing Jan. 11 amid efforts to board an unflagged ship carrying Iranian-made weapons to Houthi rebels off the coast of Somalia.
The two sailors were Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher Chambers, 37, and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, 27.
The Navy called off the search for the pair of sailors Sunday after a 10-day effort that, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, involved an “expansive search operation” using “airborne and naval platforms from the U.S., Japan and Spain [to] continuously search more than 21,000 square miles.”
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On the evening of Jan. 11, Chambers and Ingram were part of a group of SEALs who were operating from the expeditionary mobile base USS Lewis B. Puller “supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles,” according to a statement from U.S. Central Command released Jan. 16.
The Associated Press, citing defense officials, reported that, as the team was boarding the ship, one of the SEALs went under in the heavy seas, and a teammate went in to try and save him.
The statement identifying Chambers and Ingram did not specify which sailor went into the water first.
Ultimately, the seizure of the boat led to the discovery of Iranian-made missile…
