Three U.S. Marines had been killed and 20 others had been injured when their MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed off the coast of Australia whereas collaborating in multinational coaching workouts, the Marine Corps introduced Sunday.
The helicopter, which was carrying 23 American service members, was participating within the ongoing “Predators Run 2023” coaching workouts with Australia and allies from across the South Pacific.
It was the second Marine plane fatality in lower than per week. Maj. Andrew “Simple Jack” Mettler died Thursday after his F/A-18D Hornet jet crashed whereas on a coaching flight close to Miramar, California.
Authorities stated the most recent crash occurred round 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning Australian time on Melville Island, a distant website about 50 miles north of town of Darwin on the nation’s northern coast.
“Three have been confirmed deceased while five others were transported to Royal Darwin hospital in serious condition,” an announcement from the U.S. Marine Rotational Force-Darwin stated, with no less than one affected person in important situation and present process surgical procedure.
The names of the lifeless or wounded Marines weren’t instantly accessible, and officers stated the reason for the crash stays below investigation.
PHOTOS: 23 US Marines are injured, some critically, in an plane crash in Australia, officers say
Aircraft had been despatched from Darwin to retrieve extra survivors from the distant location, the Associated Press reported, however no additional particulars on the destiny of the opposite 15 Marines on board and never ferried to the hospital had been forthcoming later Sunday.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy stated everybody on board the craft had sustained no less than some degree of damage.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese known as the incident a tragedy.
Australian army officers are “very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this point in time,” Mr. Albanese stated at a beforehand scheduled press convention Sunday. “This incident is a reminder of the significance of the service undertaken by our personnel and those of our partner nations.”
Four Australian troopers had been killed final month throughout massive bilateral workouts when their helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Queensland.
The 12-day Predators Run 2023 workouts started earlier this week, involving some 2,500 troops from the U.S., Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
The joint coaching reportedly included air, land and sea maneuvers.
Around 150 U.S. Marines are presently based mostly in Darwin, and as much as 2,500 rotate by way of town yearly. The U.S. has moved to bolster army ties with Canberra and nations within the area within the face of an more and more aggressive China.
The incident is for certain to focus recent consideration on the distinctive tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey – in simply over a decade earlier than Sunday, the Corps had suffered 5 earlier deadly crashes involving the craft, resulting in the deaths of no less than 16 Marines.
Most just lately, 5 Marines had been killed when an Osprey went down in flames in a distant space of California east of San Diego. A later probe stated the crash was the results of a mechanical failure associated to a clutch, the AP reported.
Just months earlier than that, 4 Marines died in an Osprey crash in Norway that was blamed on pilot error.
— This article was based mostly partly on wire service stories.
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