The Department of Defense declared U.S. service member Staff Sgt. Emil Rivera-Lopez dead after he went missing during a training incident on Aug. 25 in which a Black Hawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Yemen. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department announced the death of a soldier who went missing after a helicopter crash in Yemen.

The soldier, identified as Staff Sgt. Emil Rivera-Lopez, was declared dead on Friday after his status had previously been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown.


Rivera-Lopez went missing when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed about 20 miles of the coast of Yemen during a training accident Aug. 25.

Five U.S. service members onboard the aircraft were rescued after the crash, but Rivera-Lopez remained missing.

The Army Times reported the 31-year-old Rivera-Lopez hailed from San Juan, P.R., and had been awarded nine commendations since joining the Army in July 2006.