CORONADO, Calif. (NewsNation) — Two soldiers were killed and three injured during an Army aircraft training near Coronado Thursday, according to a U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesperson.
“An element of U.S. Army Special Operations Command was conducting routine training in the vicinity of Coronado, California, on August 27, when an aircraft incident occurred. Two Soldiers were killed and three were injured. The area has been secured and an investigation into the incident is underway,” said a U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesperson in a statement to NewsNation.
San Diego Union-Tribune reports the soldiers were on a Blackhawk helicopter when it crashed on San Clemente Island.
A Defense Department official told the newspaper that the accident involved members of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
More information about the accident will be released in the coming days after the soldiers’ families are notified.
This is the second training accident near San Clemente Island this year. In July, seven U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor died when their amphibious vehicle sank during a training mission.