Seven US marines killed in tanker plane crash
A US military tanker plane crashed into a mountain in Pakistan, killing seven marines, the Pentagon said. It was the worst US casualty toll of the Afghanistan campaign.
Pentagon officials said there were no signs that the plane, a KC-130 used for in-flight refuelling or hauling cargo, was brought down by hostile action.
The crash occurred late last night local time, and a search-and-rescue mission continued into the next morning. The Pentagon identified the dead Marines shortly before midnight (5am GMT) in Washington.
The plane crashed as it approached a military airfield called Shamsi in southwestern Pakistan. about 180 miles south west of the Pakistani city of Quetta, according to US Central Command.
Witnesses reported seeing flames shooting from the plane before it slammed into the mountain.
A spokesman for the US Central Command, Major Randy Sandoz, said Marines and Pakistanis had approached the crash site, but no bodies had been recovered as of late yesterday.
‘‘We made it to the crash site on foot,’’ Major Sandoz said. ‘‘But they were unable to remain there. It is a very steep grade and they were unable to get footing. The site is secure.’’
The Pentagon identified the seven Marines who were killed as: The pilot, Captain Matthew Bancroft, 29, of Shasta, California; co-pilot Captain Daniel McCollum, 29, of Richland, South Carolina; Gunnery Sergeant Stephen Bryson, 35, of Montgomery, Alabama; Staff Sergeant Scott Germosen, 37, of New York City; Sergeant Nathan Hays, 21, of Lincoln, Washington; Lance Corporal Bryan Bertrand, 23, of Coos Bay, Oregon; and Sergeant Jeannette Winters, 25, of Du Page, Illinois. All were based at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California.
Sgt Winters is the first woman among US forces killed since the war in Afghanistan began on October 7.
Central Command, which is responsible for US military operations in Pakistan and the surrounding region, said the four-engine KC-130 Hercules took off from Jacobabad, Pakistan, and was making multiple stops.
President George W Bush said the crash was a reminder of ‘‘how serious the times are today’’.
‘‘Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the soldiers,’’ Mr Bush said at a fund-raiser for the re-election of his brother Jeb as governor of Florida. ‘‘But I want to remind them that the cause that we are now engaged in is just and noble. The cause is freedom and this nation will not rest until we’ve achieved our objective.’’
In a brief exchange with reporters at the Pentagon, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not know the circumstances of the crash or whether the KC-130 was on a refuelling mission.
‘‘I’m going to wait for the investigation to be completed,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve got some folks heading up there now.
‘‘It is a tough, dangerous business over there,’’ he added. ‘‘They’re doing difficult things and they’re doing them darned well, and it just breaks your heart.’’
A journalist, Saeed Malangzai, who lives about 40 miles from the crash site, said the plane went down in mountains in southern Balochistan province.
‘‘Residents saw flames from the burning plane before it crashed into the Lundi mountains,’’ he said.
Pakistani troops encircled the area, he said.
The KC-130 is routinely used by the Marine Corps for in-flight refuelling of helicopters. It is also used for troop and cargo delivery, evacuation missions and special operations support. It normally carries a six-man crew of two pilots, a navigator, flight engineer, mechanic and loadmaster.
The only other fatal crash of a US military aircraft during the war in Afghanistan, was an Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in Pakistan on October 19, killing two Army Rangers.
