NEW YORK, Sept 29, CMC – A United States Navy helicopter has rescued two civilians whose private aircraft crashed into the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Dominica.

The two civilian passengers aboard the aircraft are being treated aboard the USS Wasp, the Navy amphibious assault ship that is assisting with relief efforts off the island battered by Hurricane Mari last week.

“USS Wasp was contacted by French Coast Guard …via bridge-to-bridge radio that a blue and white civilian Cessna with two persons on board was reported to be going down in the Caribbean,” said Commander Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Fleet Forces Command.

He said a MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter aboard the USS Wasp “successfully recovered both civilian survivors (and “) they are being treated on board the Wasp.”

The amphibious assault ship is part of the US military effort to assist Dominica a week after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island’s dwellings, the television station said.

It said the mission is part of Joint Task Force – Leeward Islands. The ship had earlier participated in relief efforts in the US Virgin Islands following destruction caused by Hurricane Irma.