Two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters collide, as many as 9 American soldiers killed

The U.S. Army says two of its helicopters crashed Wednesday night in Trigg County, Kentucky, with news reports indicating that as many as nine people may have been killed.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tweeted that, “We've got some tough news out of Fort Campbell, with early reports of a helicopter crash and fatalities are expected.”

He said Kentucky authorities including the state police and the Division of Emergency Management and local officials were fully committed to addressing the tragedy and getting answers.

U.S. Army officials at Fort Campbell said the collision took place at about 10 p.m. when two HH60 Blackhawks from the 101st Airborne Division were training, adding simply there were “several casualties.”

“The command is currently focused on caring for the servicemembers and their families,” The Army said, adding that the tragic crash was under investigation.

In a Thursday morning tweet following the Wednesday night crash, Kentucky’s governor announced he was en route to Fort Campbell

Thursday morning that he was traveling to Fort Campbell “to support our troops and their families after last night's tragic incident.”

Local news reports said the area where the two Blackhawk Air Assault helicopters collided was rural and away from local residences. Fort Campbell is about 60 miles northwest of Nashville.  

The incident is not the first of its kind in recent days. Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots died after their Black Hawk chopper crashed while training in Alabama.