A Day After a Deadly Crash in Australia That Left Three Dead, Eight US Marines Are Hospitalized

After a military plane crashed in northern Australia, killing three of their colleagues, eight US marines were hospitalized on Monday, one of them in critical condition. On Sunday morning, during a military practice for soldiers stationed nearby, a Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft carrying 23 marines crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin.

Eight marines were still undergoing treatment, according to Natasha Fyles, the chief minister of the Northern Territory. She said she wanted to “reassure their families that they are getting the best care possible and we’re working to ensure they’re supported.” The reason of the accident is the subject of an inquiry by the authorities, and attempts are being made to locate the bodies of the three deceased marines.

Michael Murphy, the commissioner of the Northern Territory Police, told reporters that the recovery effort and inquiry will be “long, thorough, and complex,” and that authorities anticipated being at the accident site for “at least 10 days.” He said that “everything” was being committed in terms of resources.

He had previously informed the local media that the plane had crashed in “heavy bushland,” but the presence of an airfield nearby assisted first responders in their work. He said that being able to land so close to the disaster scene had sped up treatment of the injured and “probably saved some lives.”

Following the event, Darwin Airport reports from the scene described a “significant fire” and heavy smoke, but Murphy claimed he was unable to comment on the cause of the Osprey’s crash.

Exercise reports.

The “Predators Run” exercise in which the marines had been taking part was stopped on Sunday, but a defense official from Australia told AFP that it had started up again on Monday. On the Tiwi Islands, a small collection of islands that includes Melville, the accident site, there won’t be any more workout activities, however.

In recent years, Northern Australia has grown into a key military staging area for the US military as Washington and Canberra cooperate to fight China’s expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific.

On Monday morning, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles told ABC that the US and Australian militaries will feel the loss of life. He stated, “These are incredibly close-knit groups.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin paid tribute to the deceased marines, saying that they “served our country with courage and pride. My thoughts and prayers are with their families today, along with the other soldiers who were hurt in the collision, and with the entire (US Marine Corps) family.”

The Osprey airplane has a checkered past, marred by a succession of tragic accidents over the years. Last year, during NATO training exercises, a V-22B Osprey carrying four US troops went down in Norway.

In 2017, an Osprey that was attempting to land at sea off Australia’s north coast collided with the rear of a cargo ship and collapsed, killing three marines. A Marine Osprey disaster in 2000 in Arizona claimed the lives of 19 troops.