Three Americans dead after air tanker crashes while fighting Australia’s wildfires
Three American crew members were killed after their aerial water tanker crashed while combating wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials have confirmed.
The C-130 Hercules Large Air Tanker is thought to have gone down in New South Wales’s Snowy Monaro region on Thursday. The aircraft belonged to Coulson Aviation, an aerial firefighting company contracted to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Coulson Aviation confirmed the crash in a statement released on Facebook, adding that the crew had been on a firebombing mission when the accident occurred.
Also on rt.com Australian fires that killed half a BILLION animals expected to reach ‘blast furnace’ conditions, force record evacuations (VIDEO)Foreign Minister Marise Payne conveyed Australia’s deepest condolences to US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr. over the accident.
“Our hearts go out to their loved ones. They were helping Australia, far from their own homes, an embodiment of the deep friendship between our two countries,” she said in a statement.
The crash brings the death toll from the ferocious wildfires to more than 30 since September. The blazes have scorched more than 10.4 million hectares (25.7 million acres).
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