US Navy identifies Seal candidate who died after ‘Hell Week’ training session

Navy officials on Sunday identified a Seal candidate who died after an intense training session known as Hell Week, and promised to investigate the episode that left a second sailor in hospital.

Kyle Mullen, 24, of New Jersey, died in hospital in Coronado, California, on Friday night, the officials said, giving no cause of death. The other sailor is unidentified and remains in a naval hospital in San Diego in a stable condition.

The pair were among a group of recruits seeking to become members of the Navy's elite sea, air and land team best known for killing terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Neither was engaged in active training when they were taken ill, the Navy's statement said, adding that the incident occurred several hours after the candidates successfully completed the basic underwater demolition segment of "Hell Week" training, which it said was "part of the first phase of the Navy Seal assessment and selection pathway".

In the missive released on Sunday, the Navy confirmed Mullen, of Manapalan, New Jersey, as the dead candidate.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to Seaman Mullen's family for their loss," rear admiral HW Howard III, commander of the naval special warfare command, said.

"We are extending every form of support we can to the Mullen family and Kyle's classmates."