Helicopter hard landing kills Marine at Camp Lejeune
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- One Marine has been killed and 9 others were hurt when a helicopter made a hard landing at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter came down hard during a training exercise around 9 p.m. Wednesday, Capt. Ryan Elizabeth Alvis said in a statement.
Alvis said the name of the dead Marine would not be released for 24 hours.
One of the injured Marines was in serious condition. The other eight Marines suffered injuries that were not considered serious, Capt. Kendra Motz, a base spokeswoman, said Thursday morning. Their names have not been released.
Alvis said a number of the injured were taken to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune. Others were taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville and one was sent to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville. There was no other breakdown on how many of the injured went to which hospital.
The landing is under investigation, Alvis said.
The helicopter was assigned to Heavy Helicopter Squadron-464, Marine Aircraft group-29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. The helicopter is the Marine Corps' primary heavy lift helicopter. It has a top speed of 172 mph.
No other information on the incident was immediately available.