3 US Marines killed, 20 hurt in aircraft crash at Oz drill
Canberra, August 27
A United States Marine Corps aircraft with 23 Marines aboard crashed on a North Australian island, killing at least three and injuring 20 others, five critically, during a multinational training exercise on Sunday. Three were confirmed dead on Melville Island and five were flown in serious condition 80 km to the mainland city of Darwin for treatment after the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft crashed around 9.30 am, a statement from the Marines said.
Five of them critical
- As many as 20 Marines have been injured in the crash involving an Osprey aircraft. Five of them are critical.
- The US, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor are taking part in the training exercise in Melville Island.
6 mishaps in 11 years
- Before Sunday’s crash, there have been five incidents involving Marine Ospreys since 2012, causing 16 deaths.
- The previous mishap was in June 2022 when 5 Marines died in a crash in a remote part of California east of San Diego.
“Recovery efforts are ongoing,” the statement said, adding the cause of the crash was under investigation. A plane had been sent from Darwin to retrieve more survivors from the remote location. No further details on the fate of the other 15 Marines on board had been released hours later.
A US military official reported to Australian air traffic controllers a “significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site,” according to an audio recording of the conversation.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said no one on board had escaped injury. One of the injured was undergoing surgery at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said around six hours after the crash.
Australian PM Anthony Albanese said only Americans were injured in the crash during Exercise Predators Run, which involves the militaries of the US, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor. “Australia will continue to provide assistance to our friends for as long as is required,” Albanese said.
Around 150 US Marines are currently based in Darwin and up to 2,500 rotate through the city every year. They’re part of a realignment of forces in the Asia-Pacific that’s broadly meant to face an increasingly assertive China. The 12-day exercise is scheduled to end September 7.
The Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter, but during flight can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster like an airplane. Versions of the aircraft are flown by the US Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Before Sunday, there had been five fatal crashes of Marine Ospreys since 2012, causing a total of 16 deaths.
Melville is part of the Tiwi Islands, which along with Darwin are the focus of the exercise that involves 2,500 troops. It’s Indigenous-owned land and is mostly covered by tropical woodland. Its population is around 1,000 mostly Indigenous people. Darwin is a large city by the standards of Australia’s sparsely populated tropical north with a population of 1,50,000.
The US military was also taking part in a multinational military exercise in July when four Australia personnel were killed in an army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash off the northeast Australian coast. — Agencies
