Three U.S. Marines were killed and 20 others were injured when their MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor plane crashed off the coast of Australia while participating in multinational training exercises, the Marine Corps announced Sunday.
The helicopter, which was carrying 23 American service members, was taking part in the ongoing “Predators Run 2023” training exercises with Australia and allies from around the South Pacific.
It was the second Marine aircraft fatality in less than a week. Maj. Andrew “Simple Jack” Mettler died Thursday after his F/A-18D Hornet jet crashed while on a training flight near Miramar, California.
Authorities said the latest crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning Australian time on Melville Island, a remote site about 50 miles north of the city of Darwin on the country’s northern coast.
“Three have been confirmed deceased while five others were transported to Royal Darwin hospital in serious condition,” a statement from the U.S. Marine Rotational Force-Darwin said, with at least one patient in critical condition and undergoing surgery.
The names of the dead or wounded Marines were not immediately available, and officials said the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
PHOTOS: 23 US Marines are injured, some critically, in an aircraft crash in Australia, officials say
Aircraft had been sent from Darwin to retrieve more survivors from the remote location, the Associated Press reported, but no further details on the fate of the other 15 Marines on board and not ferried to the hospital were forthcoming later Sunday.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said everyone on board the craft had sustained at least some level of injury.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident a tragedy.
Australian military officials are “very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this point in time,” Mr. Albanese said at a previously scheduled press conference Sunday. “This incident is a reminder of the significance of the service undertaken by our personnel and those of our partner nations.”
Four Australian soldiers were killed last month during large bilateral exercises when their helicopter crashed into the ocean off the coast of Queensland.
The 12-day Predators Run 2023 exercises began earlier this week, involving some 2,500 troops from the U.S., Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
The joint training reportedly included air, land and sea maneuvers.
Around 150 U.S. Marines are currently based in Darwin, and up to 2,500 rotate through the city every year. The U.S. has moved to bolster military ties with Canberra and countries in the region in the face of an increasingly aggressive China.
The incident is certain to focus fresh attention on the distinctive tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey - in just over a decade before Sunday, the Corps had suffered five previous fatal crashes involving the craft, leading to the deaths of at least 16 Marines.
Most recently, five Marines were killed when an Osprey went down in flames in a remote area of California east of San Diego. A later probe said the crash was the result of a mechanical failure related to a clutch, the AP reported.
Just months before that, four Marines died in an Osprey crash in Norway that was blamed on pilot error.
— This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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