American, Japanese and Australian forces have abandoned the search for five missing Marines involved in a fatal air collision in the Pacific, after U.S. commanders on Tuesday declared the lost service members dead.

Tuesday’s announcement by command officials at Marine Corps‘ Camp Butler in Okinawa brings the death toll from the Dec. 6 crash to six. Marine Corps Capt. Jahmar Resilard was pronounced dead last Friday after he and another crew member aboard the F/A-18 Super Hornet after being rescued by U.S. forces.

“Every possible effort was made to recover our crew and I hope the families of these selfless Americans will find comfort in the incredible efforts made by US, Japanese, and Australian forces during the search,” said III Marine Expeditionary Force commander Lt. Gen. Eric Smith in a statement Tuesday.

Capt. Resilard’s jet collided with a KC-130 aerial tanker off the coast of western Japan, while conducting routine training operations in the region. The five missing Marines were likely part of the air refueling crew, command officials say.

Navy and Marine Corps officials have declined to identify the surviving crew member. Both officers were attached to Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni at Yamaguchi, Japan. The five Marines aboard the KC-130 were assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

“The next-of-kin for the five deceased Marines have been notified,” Marine Corps officials said.

The incident remains under investigation, service officials noted Tuesday. “The Marine Corps rigorously investigates all aviation mishaps to identify the causes, learn from them, and mitigate future incidents,” they added in the statement.

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