A military spokeswoman confirmed that nine persons were killed in an accident involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky.
According to Nondice Thurman, a Fort Campbell spokesperson, the killings occurred the night before in southeastern Kentucky during a regular training exercise.
According to a Fort Campbell statement, the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne Division crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Kentucky’s Trigg County. The collision occurred around 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Fort Campbell, according to the 101st Airborne Division. The crash is being investigated.
“For now, our emphasis is on the Troops and families impacted,” the statement continued.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had already stated that fatalities were expected, and that police and emergency personnel were on the scene.
The crash happened in a field, some wooded area,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Sarah Burgess said during a news conference. “At this time, there have been no reports of property damage.”
Fort Campbell lies near the Tennessee border, some 60 miles (97 kilometres) northwest of Nashville, and the incident occurred in Cadiz, a hamlet in Trigg County, Kentucky.
Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile away, claimed he witnessed two helicopters flying over his house just before the crash.
“For some reason, my wife and I were sitting on the back deck last night and I commented, ‘Wow, those two helicopters look low and they appear kind of near to one another tonight,'” he explained.
The helicopters hovered over and around, and then “we saw what looked like a firework go off in the sky.”
“All of their helicopter’s lights went out. It seemed as if they had just poofed… “Then we saw an enormous glow, almost like a fireball,” Tomaszewski explained.
Flyovers for training exercises take place virtually every day, and the helicopters often fly low but not too close together, according to him.
“They were back to back. “We usually see one and then another a few minutes later, and we just witnessed two of them flying together last night,” he explained.
Members of the Kentucky Senate observed a moment of silence in honour of the crash victims on Thursday morning.
“We don’t know the magnitude of what’s happened, but I hear it’s bad and there’s been a significant loss of life among our military,” Senate President Robert Stivers told the gloomy chamber.
Two Tennessee National Guard pilots were murdered last month when their Black Hawk chopper crashed while training along an Alabama highway.