SYDNEY听–听罢丑谤别别听US听惭补谤颈苍别蝉听died in an听补颈谤肠谤补蹿迟听肠谤补蝉丑听off the coast of northern Australia on Sunday while transporting troops听诲耻谤颈苍驳听a routine military exercise, officials said.
Five others were “transported to Royal Darwin Hospital in serio耻蝉听condition”, Marine Rotation Force – Darwin said in a press release.
They were among 23听惭补谤颈苍别蝉听on the MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor听补颈谤肠谤补蹿迟听when it听肠谤补蝉丑ed, the statement said, adding the cause of the聽肠谤补蝉丑听was being investigated.
The聽肠谤补蝉丑听occurred on the remote Tiwi Islands at approximately 9.30 a.m. (0130 GMT), the statement said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident “tragic”, saying the Osprey was supporting the Exercise Predators Run 2023 military exercise. No Australian personnel were involved in the听肠谤补蝉丑, he said.
“Our foc耻蝉听as a government and as a department of defense is very much on incident response and on making sure that every support and assistance is given at this difficult time,” the prime minister told a previously scheduled press conference in Western Australia.
About 2,500 personnel from Australia, the US, the Philippines, Indonesia and East Timor were taking part in the听别虫别谤肠颈蝉别蝉.
The US and Australia, a key ally in the Pacific, have been stepping up military cooperation in recent years in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
“Australian and听鲍厂听personnel have stood shoulder to shoulder for more than a century,” Albanese and the Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.
“This incident is a reminder of the significance of the service undertaken by our personnel and those of our partner nations.”
Four Australian soldiers were聽聽last month听诲耻谤颈苍驳听large bilateral听别虫别谤肠颈蝉别蝉聽when their helicopter听肠谤补蝉丑ed into the ocean off the coast of Queensland. – Reuters
