CLIFF COLEMAN/BELL COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
Emergency personnel respond to the crash of an AH-64 Apache military helicopter, attached to the Army base of Fort Hood, near Salado, Texas, today.
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 today, sparking a large grass fire, officials said.
The accident occurred in Bell County, about 60 miles north of the state capital Austin, said Cliff Coleman, a spokesperson with the Bell County Sheriff’s Office.
The Bell County justice of the peace declared dead two people who had been on board, Coleman said.
“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.
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