An official said the guard lost contact with the aircraft shortly after it took off on a maintenance test flight

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

All three Minnesota national guard soldiers were killed when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding in crashed Thursday in central Minnesota, the governor, Tim Walz, confirmed.

Maj Gen Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota national guard, said: “Our Minnesota national guard family is devastated by the deaths of these soldiers. Our priority right now is ensuring that our families are taken care of.”

The identities of the soldiers were not released, pending notification of family.

The national guard says the helicopter, which crashed south of St Cloud, was a UH-60 Black Hawk from the guard’s army aviation safety facility in the city.

The guard lost contact with the helicopter shortly after it took off on a maintenance test flight from St Cloud on Thursday afternoon, Master Sgt Blair Heusdens said. The helicopter called mayday about nine minutes after takeoff.

Crews from multiple departments spent several hours searching before finding the crash, Dan Miller, the Stearns county chief sheriff’s deputy, said.

Television aerial footage showed the wreck of the helicopter along a tree line near open fields near St Cloud, which is about 59 miles (95km) north-west of Minneapolis. Apparent scorch marks encircled the flattened wreckage in the snow.

The Guard’s base near St Cloud Regional Airport has been in operation since 2009, with Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters maintained there.