JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA (AP) – Two United States (US) Army helicopters collided and crashed on Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth.
Two of the soldiers died at the scene of the crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was being treated at a hospital for injuries, the army said in a statement.
The names of those killed were being withheld until relatives could be notified, the army said.
Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, John Pennell, a spokesperson for the US Army Alaska, said earlier on Thursday.
The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks.
“This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division Major General Brian Eifler said in the army statement.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the army available to support them.”
The army said the cause of the crash was under investigation and more details would be released when they become available.
The crash is the second accident involving military helicopters in Alaska this year.
In February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna. The aircraft was one of four traveling to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage from Fort Wainwright.
In March, nine soldiers were killed when two US Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during a routine nighttime training exercise about 48 kilometres (km) northeast of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Healy is located about 16.09 km north of Denali National Park and Preserve, or about 402 km north of Anchorage.
Healy is a community of about 1,000 people located on the Parks Highway in Alaska’s interior region. It is a popular place for people to spend the night while visiting the nearby park, which is home to Denali, the continent’s tallest mountain.
