During a multi-nation training exercise, an aircraft crashed on an island off the northern coast of Australia, killing three Marines, according to a statement released by the Marine Corps on Sunday.
The MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin, “while transporting troops throughout a routine training exercise,” according to the statement.
According to the announcement, five further people in “serious condition” were taken 60 kilometers to the south of the island, to the Royal Darwin Hospital. There were 23 people on board in total, it continued.
All of the passengers were Marines, a spokeswoman told NBC News.
The statement continued, “The Marines aboard the aircraft had been flying in aid of Exercise Predators Run,” and it concluded, “The cause of the accident is under investigation.”
The 12-day exercise is focused on Melville, a section of the Tiwi Islands, and is expected to end on September 7. Hundreds of soldiers from the United States, Australia, the Philippines, East Timor, and Indonesia are participating.
Meville is a piece of indigenous land that is primarily covered with tropical forest. There are about 1,000 individuals there, predominantly Indigenous people.
Up to 2,500 U.S. Marines cycle through Darwin year, and there are now 150 of them stationed there.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described it as a “tragic incident,” adding that his country’s priority was “very much on responding to the incident and on making sure that each support and assistance is given.”
He continued by saying that his administration’s defense division and government were “also very focused on delivering that practical assistance on the ground.”
Michael Murphy, the region’s police commissioner, and Natasha Fyles, the chief minister of the Northern Territory, announced during a joint news conference that helicopters and fixed-wing planes had been dispatched to transport the remaining injured from the remote location.
According to Murphy, one of two Ospreys that had flown on Sunday from Darwin to Melville was the one that crashed.
“We acknowledge that this is a terrible incident,” Fyles continued. The Northern Territory administration is ready to provide whatever help is needed.
The U.S. Embassy in Australia released a statement in which it expressed gratitude to the Australian first responders and expressed its “deepest condolences” to the relatives and friends of the fatalities. It also wished the injured “a speedy and full recovery.”
The statement continued, “Australians and Americans have been considered the closest of friends for more than a century, and we’re grateful for their continuing friendship and support at this time.
Australian and American military cooperation has increased recently. Last month, a helicopter carrying four Australian soldiers crashed into the water off the coast of Queensland while they were participating in training.