Three US Marines have been killed and several others seriously wounded after an Osprey aircraft crashed during military exercises in Australia.
Of the 23 Marines on board the MV-22B Osprey aircraft, three died while five others have been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious condition, the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin said in a statement on Sunday.
The incident on Melville Island happened 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.
After an incident like this, it’s common for an operational stand-down to be announced, when officials ground a fleet of aircraft while they perform an accident investigation, CNN military analyst and retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton said Sunday on “CNN This Morning.”
Leighton said it’s too soon to say whether the accident was due to a mechanical failure or some other issue.
Two US Marine Osprey aircraft left Darwin and flew towards Tiwi Islands, about 80 kilometers away, on Sunday morning, Australia’s Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said. One of the aircraft crashed on Melville Island, he added.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles expressed their condolences in a joint statement.
“Australian and US personnel have stood shoulder to shoulder for more than a century. Our Alliance is built upon these enduring links and our shared values,” Albanese and Marles said.
Joint military training exercises like these are meant to hone communication and coordination between partners, Leighton said.
“There’s a lot of coordination that goes along with these exercises,” he said. “The Australians are great partners, and those exercises are invaluable in providing for security in the Pacific region.”
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