3 Minnesota National Guard soldiers killed in copter crash

The Associated Press

5 years ago

Emergency vehicles line the road near the scene of a helicopter crash Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, n ... — Emergency vehicles line the road near the scene of a helicopter crash Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, near Marty, Minn. A Black Hawk helicopter with three crew members aboard crashed Thursday in central Minnesota, a state National Guard official said. (Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP)

In this Monday, March 19, 2018 photo, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters carrying US and Afghan trainees take off at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Emergency vehicles gather near the scene of a reported helicopter crash Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, near Marty, Minn. A Black Hawk helicopter with three crew members aboard crashed Thursday in central Minnesota, a state National Guard official said. (Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP)

A rescue worker rides an ATV near the scene of a reported helicopter crash Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019, near Marty, Minn. A Black Hawk helicopter with three crew members aboard crashed Thursday in central Minnesota, a state National Guard official said. (Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP)

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — All three Minnesota National Guard soldiers were killed when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding in crashed Thursday in central Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz confirmed. The identities of the soldiers were not released, pending notification of family.

The crash was being investigated and preliminary information on the crash was not released.

Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, said: “Our Minnesota National Guard family is devastated by the deaths of these soldiers. Our priority right now is ensuring that our families are taken care of.”

The National Guard says the helicopter was a UH-60 Black Hawk from the guard’s Army Aviation Safety Facility in St. Cloud.