Nine service members have been confirmed dead following a helicopter crash involving two military helicopters on Wednesday night in Trigg County, Kentucky, near Fort Campbell, according to a Fox News report.
Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the unit to which the two helicopters involved in the crash belonged.
The incident occurred during a routine training mission at approximately 10 p.m., according to Brendalyn Carpenter-Player, the director of Fort Campbell Public Affairs.
The crewmembers were flying two HH60 Black Hawk helicopters at the time of the crash.
Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said Thursday morning that the deaths happened the previous night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission, The Associated Press reports.
The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 miles northwest of Fort Campbell.
“Right now our focus is on the Soldiers and their families who were involved,” a statement from Fort Campbell read.
Emergency personnel from multiple counties, including the East Golden Pond Fire Department, responded to the crash site between Bobby Light Road and Lancaster Road.
The cause of the crash is currently unknown, and the incident is under investigation by Fort Campbell officials, Kentucky state police, and the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) confirmed the crash on Twitter, stating that multiple fatalities were expected, and urged people to “Please pray for all those affected.”
An individual who was about half a mile away from the crash site reported hearing “two booms.”
The U.S. Army has a military base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
“The command is currently focused on caring for the servicemembers and their families,” Carpenter-Player said. “More information will be released as it becomes available.”
