The new UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter sits on the tarmac at the National Guard’s Eastern Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. A similar helicopter crashed in Texas on Friday, killing two National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent.
Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army
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Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army
The new UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter sits on the tarmac at the National Guard’s Eastern Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. A similar helicopter crashed in Texas on Friday, killing two National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent.
Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army
Two Army National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent were killed in a helicopter crash along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Friday, military officials said. One soldier survived but remains in critical condition.
The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was part of the federal government’s border security operations, according to Joint Task Force North, based at Fort Bliss. The crash occurred mid-afternoon near Rio Grande City in Starr County.
The passengers included one woman and three men, Starr County Judge Eloy Vera told The Associated Press.
Joint Task Force North said the names of those on board who were killed would not be released until their families have been notified. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the bureau is mourning over the passengers killed.
“They are a tragic loss beyond words. We pray for the speedy recovery of a third Guard Soldier who was seriously injured,” Hokanson said.
In January, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter crashed due to a loss of power while patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand injury, the department said at the time.
This story originally appeared on NPR
