MAYDAY

Three Dead in Minnesota National Guard Helicopter Crash

The National Guard said it lost contact with the Black Hawk helicopter while it was on a maintenance test flight.

Three National Guard members who were on board a Minnesota National Guard helicopter died when it crashed Thursday afternoon, news station KSTP reports. In a press conference, Gov. Tim Walz said all three crew members on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter were killed in the crash near St. Cloud. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. The National Guard said it lost contact with the helicopter at around 2:05 p.m. after it took off for a maintenance test flight from St. Cloud. A mayday call reportedly came about nine or 10 minutes into the flight. St. Paul Fire Department, the Minnesota Aviation Rescue Team, and the State Patrol Cirrus aircraft all deployed to find the crash site after the helicopter lost contact with the National Guard.