Three U.S. Marines have been killed and others injured after an Osprey aircraft crashed during military exercises in Australia, officials said Sunday.
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 in Australia took place 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.
Two U.S. 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.
The incident took place during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023, said a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defence. The exercise involves the militaries of the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor.
Numerous accidents involving Osprey military aircraft have been reported over the years.
In 2022 five U.S. Marines died after their MV-22B Osprey plane crashed during a training mission near Glamis, California. The same year four U.S. service members were killed when their Osprey crashed during NATO training exercises in Norway.
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