Three crew members of America has died after an air tanker crashed in the snowy mountain area of the state of New South Wales during the bushfire, on Thursday.
The aircraft’s name is C-130 Hercules which was contracted by the Rural Fire Service, lost contact with the authorities around 1:30 p.m.
Saying it lost contact with one of its large air tankers in southern New South Wales, Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc. of Portland, Oregon, confirmed the three deaths in a statement.
“Initial reports are that there was a large fireball associated with the impact of the plane as it hit the ground,” said Shane Fitzsimmons, Rural Fire Service Commissioner.
“Tragically this afternoon, shortly before 1.30pm, we lost contact with one of our large air tankers – a C-130 water bombing aeroplane that we’ve been using here in New South Wales for some years now, under contract,” said Fitzsimmons.
The exact reason for the aircraft crash has not confirmed yet.
“Unfortunately, all we’ve been able to do is locate the wreckage and the crash site. We have not been able to locate any survivors,” said Fitzsimmons.
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