Two crew members who were missing following the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington during a routine training flight have been declared dead, the US navy said on Sunday. The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon, according to navy officials. Search teams, including a US navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from the air station to try to find the crew and crash site. Special forces soldiers trained in mountaineering, high-angle rescue and technical communications were brought in to reach the wreckage, which was located on Wednesday by an aerial crew resting at about 6,000ft (1,828m) in a remote, steep and heavily wooded area east of Mount Rainier, officials said. The aviators’ names will not be released until a day after their next of kin have been notified, the navy said in a statement on Sunday, adding that search and rescue efforts have shifted into a long-term salvage and recovery operation as the cause of the crash is still being investigated. “It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” said Timothy Warburton, commanding officer of the aviators’ Electronic Attack Squadron. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.” Locating the missing crew members “as quickly and as safely as possible” had been top priority, Capt David Ganci, commander, Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet, said on Thursday. The search took place near Mount Rainier, a towering active volcano that is blanketed in snowfields and glaciers year-round. Military aircraft training exercises can be dangerous and sometimes result in crashes, injuries and deaths. In May, an F-35 fighter jet on its way from Texas to Edwards base near Los Angeles crashed after the pilot stopped to refuel in New Mexico. The pilot was the only person on board in that case and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. Last year, eight US air force service members were killed when a CV-22B Osprey aircraft they were flying in crashed off the coast of Japan.