TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Four service members were aboard a U.S. Army MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed near Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, the Army said in a release Thursday. The Army did not release their conditions.
The helicopter was on a routine training mission when it crashed at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, an Army official said in a statement. The soldiers were part of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Airborne, officials said. The cause of the crash was under investigation, the Army said.
“This remains an active, ongoing situation,” the release said.
The crash sparked a small wildfire that had grown to 1 acre (0.4 hectares) by Thursday morning, the Washington Department of Natural Resources said.
This is “currently a search mission” involving the “m