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Search underway in New South Wales for missing water tanker plane fighting Australia wildfires Three Americans dead after air tanker crashes while fighting Australia’s wildfires
(about 8 hours later)
A search has been launched for a water tanker aircraft that went missing while fighting back Australia’s raging wildfires, with fears it may have crashed somewhere in New South Wales (NSW), according to the state’s Rural Fire Service. Three American crew members were killed after their aerial water tanker crashed while combating wildfires in southeastern Australia, officials have confirmed.
The C-130 Hercules Large Air Tanker is thought to have gone down in NSW’s Snowy Monaro region on Thursday. While it remains unclear how many people were on board the tanker, several aircraft have been dispatched to the area to carry out a search, including a number of helicopters and a Boeing P-8A Poseidon military craft. Five ambulances are also en route to the area as part of the search and rescue operation. The C-130 Hercules Large Air Tanker is thought to have gone down in New South Wales’s Snowy Monaro region on Thursday. The aircraft belonged to Coulson Aviation, an aerial firefighting company contracted to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Witnesses in the vicinity of Snowy Monaro told local media they saw a “ball of fire” in what they believe was a crash. Coulson Aviation confirmed the crash in a statement released on Facebook, adding that the crew had been on a firebombing mission when the accident occurred.
Boasting a 15,000-liter water reservoir, the C-130 Hercules is the largest aircraft in the Rural Fire Service’s fleet. Foreign Minister Marise Payne conveyed Australia’s deepest condolences to US Ambassador Arthur Culvahouse Jr. over the accident.
“Our hearts go out to their loved ones. They were helping Australia, far from their own homes, an embodiment of the deep friendship between our two countries,” she said in a statement.
The crash brings the death toll from the ferocious wildfires to more than 30 since September. The blazes have scorched more than 10.4 million hectares (25.7 million acres).
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