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.
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"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.
Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Vista, California; Editing by Jamie Freed