US Embassy thanks Australia for response to fatal helicopter crash

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The US embassy has thanked Australia for its emergency response to the fatal crash of an American helicopter during defence exercises in the Northern Territory. Three marines died and 23 were injured - five of them critically - when their military aircraft crashed on Melville Island yesterday morning.

Transcript

00:00 This has very much moved from a rescue operation, rather,

00:06 to a recovery mission.

00:08 And as we start to learn a bit more about the condition

00:12 of those who've survived this tragic crash,

00:15 but also a bit more about the response that will now happen,

00:20 of course, three US personnel died in this accident

00:25 north of Darwin at Melville Island.

00:28 There were about five personnel transported to Darwin yesterday

00:34 and one, we understand, has received lifesaving treatment

00:38 in the Royal Darwin Hospital overnight.

00:40 But investigations are now getting underway in a proper sense.

00:44 There will be several investigations,

00:46 but the primary one will be conducted by the US military.

00:50 As you'd expect, this involves a US Marine Corps Osprey.

00:54 It's an aircraft that is operated by that unit,

00:58 but also only by one other nation.

01:01 So, the United States will be carefully looking

01:04 at what occurred yesterday morning north of Darwin.

01:08 And the Australian Defence Minister, Richard Miles,

01:11 has also been asked about this tragedy.

01:14 He told the ABC that it's important that the investigation occur,

01:18 but also that this aircraft, he felt,

01:21 was confident to be able to resume flying at some point.

01:25 Let's hear from the Australian Defence Minister.

01:28 I think for all of those who are involved,

01:31 it will bring home the risks that there are

01:34 in engaging in defence exercises.

01:37 But in articulating those risks,

01:39 I'd also really want to be making clear

01:41 just how important these exercises are

01:43 in making sure that our defence forces are matched fit,

01:47 but also demonstrating the capabilities

01:49 that we have in working closely with each other.

01:52 And there is a deterrent effect associated with that,

01:55 which is really important as well.

01:57 Andrew, what are American officials saying about what's happened?

02:01 Very little since that initial statement from the US Marine Corps

02:05 in which they confirmed three of their personnel

02:08 had died in this accident.

02:11 But overnight, the US Embassy has issued a brief statement

02:14 thanking Australians for their efforts

02:17 in the recovery and rescue mission

02:20 and pointing out the very strong bonds

02:22 between both nations' militaries.

02:24 And this morning, we had a message from the US Defence Secretary.

02:28 He took to social media and in a tweet said,

02:32 "We tragically lost service members

02:34 "during a training exercise in Australia overnight."

02:37 He says that these Marines served their country with courage and pride,

02:42 and he said that his thoughts and prayers

02:44 were with their families today,

02:46 along with the other troops who were injured in the crash

02:49 and with the entire United States Marine Corps family.

02:53 So, that was from Secretary Lloyd Austin.

02:56 This, of course, has also put a lot of focus

02:58 on the Osprey aircraft itself.

03:01 It's something, as I say, that's operated by the US Marine Corps,

03:04 but it has, while being held in high regard,

03:07 been involved in a lot of tragic incidents

03:10 over the past decade or so.

03:13 And even in Australia in 2017,

03:16 three US Marine Corps members lost their lives

03:19 when there was a crash off the Queensland coast.

03:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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