BUCKEYE, AZ — A Buckeye man is among the three Americans killed while in Australia helping to battle massive brush fires.

According to Coulson Aviation, a British Columbia-based flight company that owned the plane involved, 42-year-old First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson from Buckeye was among three Americans killed Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the crash deaths in the state’s Snowy Monaro region, which came as Australia grapples with an unprecedented fire season that has left a large swath of destruction.

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