Police announced Monday that all 23 US marines on a military plane that crashed in northern Australia had been located. Three people were killed and five people were critically hurt in the incident.
During a normal military practice for troops stationed nearby, a Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashed on Melville Island, north of Darwin, on Sunday morning.
The 15 marines who were not dead or gravely hurt have now been found, according to authorities, who confirmed this to AFP. They were either unharmed or only slightly damaged.
The cause of the crash is the subject of an inquiry by the authorities.
Communications from the crash site describing heavy smoke and a “significant fire” were broadcast by Darwin Airport to air traffic control.
According to Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, the presence of an airstrip nearby assisted first responders in their first efforts.
“We were quite fortunate having that airstrip close by to the crash site… the ability to land in close proximity to the crash site and the speed of the assistance resulted in some casualties being treated more quickly and probably saved some lives,” he said.
Murphy described the site as being “heavy bushland”, adding that some rescuers came by air and some were able to use a four-wheel drive, although it was “a long process, probably a lot of walking as well”.
“It was just a really big effort from everyone that attended there and coordinated the rescue response just to care for those who were injured,” he said.
