Nigerian-born US Marine, Chukwuemeka Oforah, dies after falling off ship

Lance Corporal Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, a 21-year-old Nigerian-born US Marine, has died after falling overboard from the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Sea.

His death is the first known U.S. fatality in Operation Southern Spear.

Oforah, an infantry rifleman from Florida, was declared dead on February 10 after a 72-hour search and rescue mission failed to locate him, the Marine Corps announced Thursday.

He fell overboard on the evening of February 7. The Marine Corps said the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

The search involved five U.S. Navy ships, a rigid-hull inflatable boat, and 10 aircraft from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the military said.

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“We are all grieving alongside the Oforah family,” said Col. Tom Trimble. “The loss of Lance Cpl. Oforah is deeply felt across the entire Navy-Marine Corps team. He will be profoundly missed, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten.”

Operation Southern Spear, launched last year, is the United States President Donald Trump administration’s military and surveillance campaign aimed at detecting and disrupting transnational criminal maritime networks, particularly drug trafficking.

The operation has resulted in scores of deaths and the sinking of at least 39 alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

(CBS News)