Two U.S. Army soldiers died when an Apache military helicopter attached to the service’s Fort Hood base crashed into a field in Texas on Wednesday, sparking a large grass fire, officials said.
The accident occurred in Bell County, about 60 miles (100 km) north of the state capital Austin, said Cliff Coleman, a spokesperson with the Bell County Sheriff’s Office.
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The Bell County justice of the peace declared dead two people who had been on board, Coleman said.
“Today, an Apache helicopter crashed in Bell County during Fort Hood operations, killing two members of our military,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on X.
Fort Hood confirmed in a statement that an AH-64 attack helicopter crashed and two soldiers died but withheld their identification pending notification to their families.
Images provided by Coleman showed firefighters examining burning debris amid a large patch of charred grass, with smoke billowing from the scene. Several local fire departments responded to the blaze, he said.