The new UH-72A Lakota gentle utility helicopter sits on the tarmac on the National Guard’s Eastern Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. An identical helicopter crashed in Texas on Friday, killing two National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent.

Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army

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Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army

The new UH-72A Lakota gentle utility helicopter sits on the tarmac on the National Guard’s Eastern Aviation Training Site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa. An identical helicopter crashed in Texas on Friday, killing two National Guard members and a Border Patrol agent.

Pfc. Coltin Heller, U.S. Army

Two Army National Guard troopers and a Border Patrol agent have been killed in a helicopter crash alongside the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Friday, army officers stated. One soldier survived however stays in vital situation.

The UH-72 Lakota helicopter was a part of the federal authorities’s border safety operations, according to Joint Task Force North, based mostly at Fort Bliss. The crash occurred mid-afternoon close to Rio Grande City in Starr County.

The passengers included one lady and three males, Starr County Judge Eloy Vera informed The Associated Press.

Joint Task Force North stated the names of these on board who have been killed wouldn’t be launched till their households have been notified. The reason for the crash stays underneath investigation.

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, wrote on X, previously generally known as Twitter, that the bureau is mourning over the passengers killed.

“They are a tragic loss beyond words. We pray for the speedy recovery of a third Guard Soldier who was seriously injured,” Hokanson stated.

In January, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter crashed attributable to a lack of energy whereas patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. The co-pilot suffered a minor hand harm, the division stated on the time.