Search continues for two missing US soldiers in Morocco

A 600-person search continued off the south-western coast of Morocco on Wednesday for two American soldiers who went missing over the weekend.

The United States Africa Command – AFRICOM — said they had been among thousands of people taking part in an annual multinational military exercise, African Lion.

It is being reported that a group of US servicemen had gone on a hike on Saturday to watch the sunset when a soldier fell off the cliffside into the ocean near the Cap Draa training area.

When a human chain attempt to save the soldier failed, a second person apparently then jumped into the water, as it was known he was unable to swim.

But when the pair had trouble making it back to shore, a third service member leaped into the water to assist.

Officials say this soldier was unable to save the other two but did manage to make it back to safety on their own.

More than 600 personnel from the US, Morocco and other African Lion participants are involved in the search and have covered more than 45 square kilometres of coastal and open ocean area, a US defence official told The Associated Press.

The multinational search team, including helicopters, ships, mountain rescue units, and divers continued on Wednesday.

The war games exercise, which started in April and runs across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal, is scheduled to end in early May.

It brings together thousands of troops from the United States, African partner nations, and NATO allies to train for modern warfare across land, air, sea, cyber, and space domains.