A US National Guard helicopter flying over the US-Mexico border crashed on Friday (Mar 8), said the US military. The plane had four people onboard, with at least three of them reportedly being dead. The fourth soldier sustained critical injuries.
The helicopter crashed near Rio Grande City and was assigned to the federal government’s border security mission at the time of the incident.
A statement by the Joint Taskforce North said the crash happened mid-afternoon while the helicopter was conducting aviation operations. According to Starr County judge Eloy Vera, the plane carried three male and one female soldier.
Texas Department of Public Safety South Regional Director Victor Escalon was quoted as saying by media that the crash involved “a military helicopter on federal orders working with Border Patrol.”
The names of the soldiers involved in the accident were not revealed yet.
Helicopter not part of ‘Operation Lone Star’
Texas authorities confirmed that the helicopter was not part of “Operation Lone Star,” Texas’s border enforcement initiative using the National Guard and other law enforcement units.
Watch: US-Mexico migrant crisis: Migrants navigate through barbed wires to surrender in US
Sources from the Border Patrol were quoted as saying by Fox News that members of a Mexican cartel were monitoring the helicopter with one of their drones when it crashed. They recorded footage of the wreckage and were heard laughing in a video shared on cartel social media platforms.
Review was ordered previously after two accidents
On February 27, the National Guard released a statement stating that Lt Gen A. Jensen, the director, had ordered a pause in aviation operations across all Army National Guard helicopter units to conduct a comprehensive review of safety policies and procedures following two recent helicopter accidents.
This decision resulted in a temporary grounding of the entire bureau’s helicopter fleet, as reported by the New York Post.
On February 23, two National Guard soldiers lost their lives when a military helicopter crashed in a wooded area during a training exercise in Mississippi.
Additionally, two National Guard pilots were hospitalised after their helicopter crashed during a training exercise in Utah. Both incidents involved AH-64 Apaches.
(With inputs from agencies)
