Three US Marines have been killed and several others seriously wounded after an Osprey aircraft crashed during military exercises in Australia, officials said Sunday.
Of the 23 Marines on board the MV-22B Osprey aircraft, three died while five others have been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital in serious condition, the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin said in a statement on Sunday.
The incident on Melville Island in Australia took place at 9:30 a.m. local time.
“The Marines aboard the aircraft were flying in support of Exercise Predators Run. Recovery efforts are ongoing,” the statement read, adding “The cause of the incident is under investigation.”
Earlier, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said some of the other Marines were being treated at the scene.
“We are working incredibly hard and as fast as we can to make sure we can get people to treatment,” Fyles said.
Two US Marine Osprey aircraft left Darwin and flew towards the Tiwi Islands, about 80 kilometres away, on Sunday morning, Australia’s Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said. One of the aircraft crashed on Melville Island, he added.
The incident took place during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023, said a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defence.
It is the latest deadly crash to involve an Osprey aircraft, with numerous accidents involving Osprey military aircraft reported over the years.
In 2022, five US Marines died after their MV-22B Osprey plane crashed during a training mission near Glamis, California. The same year, four US service members were killed when their Osprey crashed during NATO training exercises in Norway.
The incident comes just a month after four Australian army aircrew members died after a MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed into the sea near Hamilton Island off the east coast of Australia during an exercise that was part of joint drills with the United States. (CNN)
