BOSTON – Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher Chambers, one of two Navy SEALs who died in a mission off the coast of East Africa, was a Massachusetts native.
Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram went missing at sea on January 11 while trying to board a ship carrying Iranian weapons near the coast of Somalia, according to U.S. Central Command.
U.S. officials told the Associated Press Ingram was climbing up the ship when he got knocked off by high waves in the Arabian Sea. Chambers jumped in to try to save him. The officials told the AP both men drowned because they were both weighed down by their body armor, weapons and heavy equipment.
The military searched for them for 11 days before making their names public on Monday. President Biden said recovery efforts “are still continuing.”
Chambers was 37 years old. He enlisted in the Navy in 2012 and graduated from SEAL training in 2014. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey confirmed Tuesday that Chambers was a native of Westfield.