By SHARON JOHNSON (Associated Press)
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Nine individuals had been killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, a army spokesperson mentioned.
Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, mentioned Thursday morning that the deaths occurred the earlier night time in southwestern Kentucky throughout a routine coaching mission.
A press release from Fort Campbell says the 2 HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, a part of the one hundred and first Airborne Division, crashed round 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The one hundred and first Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 mile (48 kilometers) northwest of Fort Campbell. The crash is underneath investigation.
“Right now our focus is on the Soldiers and their families who were involved,” the assertion added.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had mentioned earlier that fatalities had been anticipated, including that police and emergency officers had been responding.
“The crash occurred in a field, some wooded area,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Sarah Burgess mentioned at a information briefing. “At this time, there are no reports of residence damage.”
Fort Campbell is situated close to the Tennessee border, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Nashville, and the crash occurred within the Trigg County, Kentucky, group of Cadiz.
Nick Tomaszewski, who lives a couple of mile from the place the crash occurred, mentioned he noticed two helicopters flying over his home moments earlier than the crash.
“For whatever reason last night my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said “Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight,’” he mentioned.
The helicopters flew over and looped again round and moments later “we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky.”
“All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed … and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball,” Tomaszewski mentioned.
Flyovers for coaching workout routines occur nearly each day and the helicopters sometimes fly low however not so shut collectively, he mentioned.
“There were two back to back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night,” he mentioned.
Members of the Kentucky Senate stood for a second of silence Thursday morning in honor of the crash victims.
“We do not know the extent of what has gone on, but I understand it is bad and there has been a substantial loss of life of our military,” Senate President Robert Stivers informed the somber chamber.
Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots had been killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed alongside an Alabama freeway throughout a coaching train.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”