WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A US Navy helicopter crashed in the central Red Sea on Sunday with five military personnel on board, a statement from US Naval Forces Central Command, said.

The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6 crashed while operating with the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, the statement said.

"The status of the five personnel on board the helicopter is still being determined," the statement said. "The crash was not due to any sort of hostile activity." The incident was under investigation, it added.