Four special operations soldiers were presumed dead in the crash of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near a military base in Western Washington State earlier this week, officials said Friday.
Recovery efforts were underway, the Army said on Friday, and the cause of the crash was being investigated. The Army, which did not release the soldiers’ names, said more information would be released on Monday.
The pilots were on a routine training flight when the aircraft, an MH-60 Black Hawk assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, went down about 9 p.m. Wednesday near Summit Lake in a rural area in Western Washington near the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where the helicopter was based, according to the Army.
Emergency crews faced challenges reaching the site of the crash because of dense trees and the remoteness of the location, Army officials said.
“It’s very rural and it was hard to get to and we don’t know what happened,” Lt. Col. Allie Scott, a spokeswoman with the Army, said on Thursday. “There is so much unknown.”
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said that the base had lost contact with a helicopter and that it had located the scene of the crash.
The Lacey Police Department said that it responded to the crash on Thursday morning and sent a drone to the site, where it came across a brush fire.
“Deputies have located the crash site but have been unable to continue rescue efforts as the scene is on fire and is starting to overheat their footwear,” Sheriff Derek Sanders of Thurston County said on social media.
Jonathan Wolfe and Rylee Kirk contributed reporting.
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
Mark Walker is an investigative reporter for The Times focused on transportation. He is based in Washington.
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