Three individuals have been killed and one was critically injured after a helicopter carrying Nationwide Guard members and a Border Patrol agent crashed Friday in south Texas whereas following passers-by the border with Mexico, officers mentioned.
The helicopter, which crashed at 2:50 p.m., was conducting an operation close to Rio Grande Metropolis, based on Joint Activity Power North, an operation beneath the Division of Protection that helps Customs and Border Safety with Nationwide Guard unit.
Two of the lifeless have been troopers, and the third was a Border Patrol agent, Joint Activity Power North mentioned in an announcement, including that it will not share the names of the victims as a result of their households had not been knowledgeable. The Nationwide Guard confirmed in an announcement that its members on board have been a part of the Military Nationwide Guard.
The reason for the crash is beneath investigation.
The aircraft was a UH-72 Lakota, the assertion mentioned. That mannequin has served because the U.S. Military's utility helicopter since 2006, based on Airbus, the producer.
The helicopter was operated by the Nationwide Guard in assist of the mission of Customs and Border Safety to safe the southern border, Maj. Ryan Wierzbicki, a spokesman for Joint Activity Power North, mentioned in an interview.
Joint Activity Power North supplies command and management for Nationwide Guard items deployed to the border on federal orders, Main Wierzbicki mentioned. The Nationwide Guard unit that crashed was not associated to Operation Lone Star, the border program led by the state of Texas.
Nobody on the bottom within the space the place the helicopter crashed was injured, he added.
The helicopter was patrolling the border and following individuals crossing into the US illegally when it crashed in an open discipline, mentioned Decide Eloy Vera, the primary native officer in Starr County, the place the crash occurred. He mentioned he was notified of the accident round 7:30 pm by the county sheriff's workplace, which later gave him extra particulars.
Three of the individuals on board have been males and one was a girl, Decide Vera mentioned, including that the Border Patrol agent had been stationed within the metropolis of Rio Grande.
Emily Schmall contributed report.
