One of the five marines confirmed dead in a plane crash has been identified as a 21-year-old, according to his family and friends.

All five marines on board an MV-22 Osprey aircraft were killed when it crashed in the California desert Wednesday afternoon, the Marine Corps said on Thursday.

Nathan Carlson of Machesney Park, Illinois, was confirmed to be one of the dead in social media posts by his family and friends.

‘My heart is absolutely shattered… I don’t have words to explain what I feel or how badly this is tearing me apart already… he had the biggest heart and was always willing to help somebody if they needed,’ Carlson’s girlfriend Emily Baxter posted on Facebook, according to the Daily Mail.

‘He left for work yesterday and woke me up and hugged me so tight, he told me he loved me and that was the last time I’d seen my person.’

Carlson’s childhood friend Gage McDonald also posted an emotional tribute.

‘Words can’t explain the way I am feeling,’ wrote McDonald. ‘We were practically raised together. I am so sorry this happened to you.’

The Camp Pendleton-based aircraft crashed about 115 miles east of San Diego in a remote section of Imperial County about 50 miles from Yuma, Arizona and 30 miles from the Mexico border.

Although early reports initially warned that nuclear material was present at the crash site, Naval Air Facility El Centro confirmed that no nuclear material was on board.

‘We mourn the loss of our Marines in this tragic mishap,’ Maj Gen Bradford J Gering, commander of the Osprey’s Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, stated on Thursday. ‘Our hearts go out to their families and friends as they cope with this tragedy.’

The Marine Corps will not release the names of the other soldiers until their families have been contacted.

‘While military service is inherently dangerous, the loss of life is always difficult,’ the Marine Corps said. ‘Third Marine Aircraft Wing is committed to providing support to the families, friends, and fellow service members of the fallen Marines.’

The Osprey, a tiltrotor combination helicopter and plane, has been widely criticized as unsafe. There have been 12 Osprey crashes since the US military began testing the aircraft in 1991, killing 46 people in total.

Most recently, an Osprey crash in March during a NATO exercise killed four US marines in Norway.

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