Investigators are determining what caused the US military Boeing MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft carrying 23 marines to crash on Melville Island, 80 kilometres north of Darwin, on Sunday.
“There were a total of 23 personnel on board,” Marine Rotation Force Darwin said in a statement.
“Three have been confirmed deceased while five others were transported to Royal Darwin Hospital in serious condition.”
The hospital declared a Code Brown – the country’s highest level of alert – in response, with NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles committing all resources to transport the injured marines to hospital.
The crash site was secured by defence force personnel and NT Police while the military training exercise the troops were involved in has been put on hold.
Chief Commissioner Michael Murphy said workers at an emergency operation centre set up to tackle fires in the territory had been redeployed to the crash site, with the national critical care and trauma response team triaging patients before they were transported.
He said the remote nature of the incident made the rescue operation challenging, with both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft involved.
The Department of Defence said the incident occurred during Exercise Predator’s Run 2023 and no Australian Defence Force members were involved.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking in Karratha, said the ADF was working with its United States partners to offer any assistance needed.
“Our focus as a government and defence department is on incident response and support at this difficult time,” he said.
“Obviously this is a regrettable incident.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Monday that he had been in contact with US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy to express Australia’s condolences.
“Obviously, we’ve been reminded, ourselves, of the risks involved in defence exercises and the costs that defence personnel pay. And we are very much standing with the United States in this moment.”
Marles said the loss of US lives would be very much felt amongst ADF personnel who worked side by side with the US marines during the dry season in the NT.
He said questions over the safety of the Osprey aircraft were a matter for the US Defence Force but Australia would rely on US certification and safety processes when operating with US forces when Ospreys were deployed.
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said the accident was a reminder of Australia’s bonds with the US, “forged through sacrifice, in peace and war”.
“We have an ongoing mission in preparing for the strategic challenges ahead, including navigating the tough geography of the Indo-Pacific region,” he said in a statement.
“We will continue to train hard together as we defend our sovereignty, values and common interests.”
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also issued a statement on the dead and injured marines.
“These marines served our country with courage and pride and my thoughts and prayers are with their families today and with the other troops who were injured in the crash and with the entire US military community family,” he said.
The US embassy on Monday issued a statement thanking members of the rescue operation.
“Australians and Americans have been the closest of friends for over 100 years and we’re thankful for their continued friendship and support at this time,” it said.
RSL Australia President Greg Melick said the three deaths and injuries were “a tragic illustration of the everyday risks faced by service personnel”.
“This is a catastrophic event, and we express our sympathy to the friends, families, and colleagues of all those impacted.” he said in a statement.
About 150 US Marines are stationed in Darwin and taking part in military drills alongside personnel from Australia, the Philippines, East Timor and Indonesia.
