Aircraft Incident Involving U.S. Military Personnel Occurs During Exercise in Australia’s Northern Territory
SYDNEY, Aug 27 – An aircraft incident involving U.S. military personnel occurred mid-morning on Sunday during an exercise in Australia’s Northern Territory, according to Australia’s Defence Ministry. Sky News Australia reported that a v-22 Osprey helicopter with about 20 U.S. Marines on board had crashed off the coast of Darwin.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that one person was in critical condition, two were stable, and there were no reports of fatalities after the crash on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. Northern Territory Police and the fire and emergency services were responding to reports of an aircraft crash on Melville Island.
The Defence Ministry stated in an email that, “Initial reports suggest the incident involves United States defence personnel and that Australian Defence Force members were not involved.” The incident took place on Melville Island north of Darwin during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office announced that he was previously scheduled to hold a press conference at 0520 GMT. The U.S. and Australia have been increasing military cooperation due to the growing assertiveness of China in the Pacific region.
It is worth noting that four Australian soldiers lost their lives last month during large bilateral exercises when their helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Queensland.
Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard
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