Heartbreaking hunt: ‘Very complex recovery mission’ continues for missing crew
The bodies of three US marines killed in a chopper crash are yet to be retrieved as emergency services begin the third day of a complex recovery mission.
Recovery crews remain on a remote island off the Northern Territory coast where an Osprey aircraft crashed, killing three US marines and injuring another 20. (AAP Image/Nine News)
Twenty US marines were transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital on Sunday after a military exercise turned to tragedy when their chopper plunged to the ground on remote Melville Island, 80km north of Darwin.
An emergency call came through from air traffic control at the time of the incident, with an American voice calling for help.
“We are just declaring an emergency, we have Dumptruck 11 flight single MV-22 in the vicinity of Melville Island,” the voice said.
“Contact 33, search and rescue is requesting … if there is fire?” an Australian voice asked six minutes later.
“There is a significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site. Looks like it is not spreading, but there is a significant fire,” responds the American voice.
A large-scale rescue operation has been under way since the weekend to find the bodies of the three soldiers and return them to their families in the US.
The crash site was still covered in smoke and emergency responders were wearing breathing masks as they trawled through the rubble on Monday afternoon.
Of the 20 hospitalised marines, three remain for treatment with one in critical condition in intensive care.
“We’re incredibly lucky and incredibly thankful, for a chopper that crashes and then catches fire, to have 20 marines that are surviving, I think that’s an incredible outcome,” NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said on Monday.
Emergency services plan to be at the site for more than a week as they work through what led to the fatal incident.
“This recovery and investigation will be prolonged, enduring and complex,” Mr Murphy said.
“We are planning to be at the crash site for at least 10 days.”
The Department of Defence said the incident occurred during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023 and no Australian members were involved.
The Marine Osprey aircraft has a tumultuous history, with a number of mechanical and operational issues since its introduction in the 1980s.
Since 2012, 19 people have died in six crashes involving the Osprey.
Australia’s Defence Force does not use the Osprey aircraft, an ADF spokesperson confirmed.
About 150 US marines are stationed in Darwin for the military drills alongside personnel from Australia, the Philippines, East Timor and Indonesia.
The exercise on the island has been cancelled but the mainland exercises have resumed.
