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Five others were "transported to Royal Darwin Hospital in
serious condition", Marine Rotation Force - Darwin said in a
press release.
They were among 23 Marines on the MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor
aircraft when it crashed, the statement said, adding the cause
of the crash was being investigated.
The crash occurred on the remote Tiwi Islands at approximately
9.30 a.m. (0130 GMT), the statement said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident
"tragic", saying the Osprey was supporting the Exercise
Predators Run 2023 military exercise. No Australian personnel
were involved in the crash, he said.
"Our focus as a government and as a department of defense is
very much on incident response and on making sure that every
support and assistance is given at this difficult time," the
prime minister told a previously scheduled press conference in
Western Australia.
About 2,500 personnel from Australia, the U.S., the Philippines,
Indonesia and East Timor were taking part in the exercises.
The U.S. and Australia, a key ally in the Pacific, have been
stepping up military cooperation in recent years in the face of
an increasingly assertive China.
"Australian and US personnel have stood shoulder to shoulder for
more than a century," Albanese and the Defense Minister Richard
Marles said in a statement.
"This incident is a reminder of the significance of the service
undertaken by our personnel and those of our partner nations."
Four Australian soldiers were killed last month during large
bilateral exercises when their helicopter crashed into the ocean
off the coast of Queensland.
(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney and Shivani Tanna in
Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
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