Firefighting plane crashes in Australia, kills 3 (All US residents)

[TomSea]

Firefighting plane crashes in Australia, kills 3
New South Wales premier says all 3 aboard were U.S. residents
The Associated Press · Posted: Jan 23, 2020


In this undated photo released from the Rural Fire Service, a C-130 Hercules plane drops water during a flight in Australia. On Thursday, officials in Australia searched for a water tanker plane feared to have crashed while fighting wildfires. (Rural Fire Service via The Associated Press)

Three people died Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in the Snowy Monaro region of Australia's southern New South Wales state, officials said.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the deaths and crash in comments to reporters as Australia attempts to deal with an unprecedented fire season that has left a large swath of destruction.

"The only thing I have from the field reports are that the plane came down, it's crashed and there was a large fireball associated with that crash," said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

Read more at: CBC

These kinds of accidents often seem to happen whenever some big emergency is being dealt with.

[Gefn]

Three US Firefighters Killed In Australia Water Bomber Crash

A large water-bombing plane crashed while fighting fires southwest of Sydney on Thursday, killing all three US crew on board, Australian officials said.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities lost contact with the Canada-owned C-130 Hercules aircraft, which was operating in the Snowy Monaro region, shortly before 1:30 pm (0230 GMT) Thursday.

Fitzsimmons said all three people killed in the crash were residents of the United States, one of several countries that have sent crews of specialist firefighters to help battle Australia's devastating bushfires.

https://www.ibtimes.com/three-us-firefighters-killed-australia-water-bomber-crash-2907837