Australia: 3 dead after US military aircraft crashes

A US military aircraft has crashed on a remote island north of Australia while taking part in war games, leaving three dead and 20 others injured.

The Osprey military aircraft crashed on Sunday. There were a total of 23 personnel on board.

Three have been confirmed dead while five others were transported to Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious condition, a US Marines official said in a statement, according to AFP.

The crashed vertical take-off aircraft had been carrying US “defense personnel”, Australia’s Defense Department confirmed, adding that there were no Australian soldiers involved in the incident.

“At this critical early stage, our focus is on the incident response and ensuring the safety of those involved,” Australia’s military said in its statement.

The aircraft crashed during the Predators Run drills near the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin, according to local state-run broadcaster ABC.

The Australian broadcaster noted that the emergency services incident map for the Northern Territory said there had been an “aircraft crash” on Melville Island, some 60km north of the Australian mainland, on Sunday morning.

In the meantime, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the crash as a “tragic” incident. He emphasized that Canberra was currently focused on providing support to those in the crash.

“Our focus as a government and as a department of defense is very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this difficult time,” he added.

The 2023 Predators Run exercise is a joint military drill that the US and Australian military forces conduct annually in Australia’s Northern Territory.

This year the joint drill coordinates multiple battle groups consisting of soldiers from Australia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, alongside American servicemen from the US Marine Corps.

In the past, Malaysian troops also took part in the Predators Run exercises.

ME