Two dead after Black Hawk US military helicopter crashes in huge fireball

16 February 2023, 07:02 | Updated: 16 February 2023, 07:04

Two crew members have been confirmed dead after a US military helicopter crashed in Alabama.

The UH-60 Black Hawk, belonging to the Tennessee National Guard, was out training when it crashed at about 3pm local time on Wednesday.

Video from near the scene shows the helicopter plummeting out of the sky before exploding, as a large plume of smoke rises up.

No one on the ground was hurt, but the two people inside the helicopter died, officials said. The cause of the crash remains unclear.

Investigator Brent Patterson said: "We have no survivors. We have a crime scene here. We have it taped off."

Tennessee National Guard adjutant general Brigadier General Warner Ross said the he was "deeply saddened" the the guardsmen's deaths.

"Our prayers are with their families during this heartbreaking tragedy," he said."We ask Tennesseans to join us in supporting their families during this time of unthinkable grief."

Although the Black Hawk is considered a reliable helicopter and is widely used around the world, there have been other recent notable crashes.

Three Idaho National Guard pilots were killed in 2021 when their helicopter crashed near Boise, the state capital.

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Two soldiers were killed and three more hurt when their Black Hawk crashed in South Carolina in 2020.

And just last year, a Black Hawk collided with another helicopter while landing in Utah with poor visibility. No one was hurt in that incident.