The Army identified two of the nine soldiers killed in a mid-air collision of Black Hawk helicopters over Kentucky as Filipino Americans, reports ABS-CBN.
It happened Wednesday during a training exercise in Trigg County, near Fort Campbell that left no survivors.
The list of the dead included Sgt. Isaac John Gayo, 27, from Los Angeles, California; and Cpl. Emilie Marie Eve Bolanos, 23, from Austin, Texas.
“Two helicopters just disappeared out of the sky. There was a large flash,” local resident Nick Tomaszewski said to MSNBC, according to the Manila Standard.
The Manila Times identified the other soldiers as Warrant Officer 1 Jeffery Barnes, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zachary Esparza, Staff Sgt. Joshua Gore, Warrant Officer 1 Aaron Healy, Staff Sgt. Taylor Mitchell, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith and Sgt. David Solinas Jr.
Brig. Gen. John Lubas said they were using night vision goggles at the time of the crash and came crashing down in an open field near a residential area.
“Now is the time for grieving and healing. The whole division and this community stand behind the families and friends of our fallen Soldiers,” Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, said in a statement to ABS-CBN.
A full investigation is underway and it is not yet known if the two choppers collided.
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