(NEW YORK) — All nine service members on board have died after two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a training mission in Trigg County, Kentucky, an Army official confirms to ABC News.
The Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division were on a “routine training mission” when they crashed at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, Army officials said.
“The command is currently focused on caring for the servicemembers and their families,” Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for the Fort Campbell Public Affairs Office, said in a statement.
“Please pray for all those affected,” Kentucky Gov. Andy. Beshear said.
Trigg County, where the crash occurred, is about 25 miles northwest of Fort Cambell, a military installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
Kentucky State Police troopers found the wreckage in a location described as either a field or a semi-wooded area, said Sarah Burgess, a police spokesperson. There were no reports of damage to residential buildings, but residents within the debris field were asked to leave the area.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the residents other than we are doing everything we can to assess the situation and make sure that our community is as safe as it can be,” Burgess said.
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