According to the authorities in the United States, on Sunday, a Marine helicopter was participating in a training exercise off the shore of the northern coast of Australia when it crashed, resulting in the deaths of at least three Americans.
According to a statement that was issued by the Marine Rotational Force–Darwin, the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey that was being flown by the Marines went down at 9:30 a.m. local time close to the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory of Australia. 23 members of the military were aboard the airplane at the time.
The notification said that five more military soldiers who were in serious condition were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital.
According to official statements, the Osprey was transporting troops as part of a “routine training exercise” in support of the joint military exercise known as operation Predators Run.
According to the officials, there was evidence that recovery efforts were still under progress. The underlying reason of the accident was not yet discovered.
Following the occurrence of two deadly mid-air helicopter accidents within a span of thirty days of each other in April, officials from the United States Army called for a stand-down of all aviation units for a period of twenty-four hours.
Following two mishaps that resulted in fatalities, the Army has given the order for all helicopter units to remain on alert.
In a statement, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General James McConville, noted that the safety of their aviators is their first priority, and that this stand-down is an essential action to guarantee that they are taking every care to prevent accidents and protect their personnel.
ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Victoria Arancio, and Luis Martinez were instrumental in the production of this report.
