Firefighting plane crashes in Australia, killing 3 Americans
Three American crew members died Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials said.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the crash deaths in the state’s Snowy Monaro region as Australia attempts to deal with an unprecedented fire season that has left a large swath of destruction.
Coulson Aviation in the US state of Oregon said in a statement that one of its Lockheed large air tankers was lost after it left Richmond in New South Wales with retardant for a firebombing mission. It said the accident was “extensive” but had few other details.
“The only thing I have from the field reports are that the plane came down, it’s crashed and there was a large fireball associated with that crash,” said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
