CANBERRA, Australia – During a multinational training exercise, officials said a US Marine Corps plane carrying 23 Marines crashed on a north Australian island Sunday, killing at least three and badly injuring at least five.
The Marines said three people were confirmed killed on Melville Island, and five were transported in serious condition to the mainland capital of Darwin for hospital treatment after the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey plane crashed about 9:30 a.m.
“Recovery efforts are ongoing,” the statement stated, adding that the crash’s cause was being investigated.
Aircraft had been dispatched from Darwin to recover survivors from the isolated site, but no further information on the fate of the remaining 15 Marines on board had been given hours later.
According to an audio recording of the exchange published by Nine News television, a U.S. military official reported a “significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site to Australian air traffic controllers.”
Shane Murphy, of Melville, was fishing from a beach when the Osprey crashed, and he saw a “big mushroom of black smoke” emerge from the wreckage, according to the ABC.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy stated that no one on board was injured.
Around six hours after the incident, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles stated one of the injured was receiving surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital.
US Marine Corps plane carrying 23 Marines crashed on a north Australian island Sunday, killing at least three and badly injuring at least five.
“We acknowledge that this is a terrible incident,” added Fyles. “The Northern Territory government stands ready to assist in any way that is required.”
According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, only Americans were harmed in the incident, which involved the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Timor militarily.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the three U.S. service personnel who lost their lives, those who have been injured, the rest of the crew, and indeed the entire United States armed forces,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Australia will continue to provide assistance to our friends for as long as it is required,” he added.
Around 150 US Marines are stationed in Darwin, with up to 2,500 passing each year. They are part of an Asia-Pacific force realignment to counter an increasingly assertive China.
The 12-day exercise is set to end on September 7. It entails troops on land, at sea, and in the air. Since the crash, the exercise has been halted.
US Marine Corps plane carrying 23 Marines crashed on a north Australian island Sunday, killing at least three and badly injuring at least five.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane during flight. The United States Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force use the aircraft.
Before Sunday, there had been five deadly Marine Osprey crashes since 2012, resulting in 16 deaths.
The most recent incident occurred in June 2022, when five Marines were killed in a horrific crash in a remote area of California east of San Diego. According to an accident investigation report released this month, the tragedy was triggered by a mechanical breakdown involving a clutch.
The investigation discovered 16 such clutch failures with Marine Ospreys in flight since 2012. However, issues had remained the same since February, when the Marine Corps began replacing an equipment component on the aircraft, according to the report.
Melville is part of the Tiwi Islands, which, along with Darwin, are the focus of the 2,500-strong exercise. It is largely covered by tropical woodland and is controlled by indigenous peoples. Its population is about 1,000 people, most of whom are Indigenous.
According to Murphy, the police commissioner, the Osprey that crashed was one of two that flew from Darwin to Melville on Sunday.
With a population of 150,000, Darwin is a sizable city by the standards of Australia’s sparsely populated tropical north. However, several casualty incidents might put its large hospital’s resources to the test. The hospital has been placed on the highest level of emergency alert, which implies that treatment of less urgent medical cases may be impacted, according to Fyles.
In July, four Australian servicemen were killed in an army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash off the northeast Australian coast when the U.S. military was also participating in a multinational military exercise.
SOURCE – (AP)
