Fort Campbell (US), Mar 30: Nine people were killed in a crash involving two Army Black Hawk helicopters in Kentucky, a military spokesperson said.

Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said Thursday morning that the deaths happened the previous night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.

A statement from Fort Campbell says the two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky. The 101st Airborne confirmed the crash about 30 mile (48 kilometres) northwest of Fort Campbell. The crash is under investigation.

"Right now our focus is on the Soldiers and their families who were involved," the statement added.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had said earlier that fatalities were expected, adding that police and emergency officials were responding.

"The crash occurred in a field, some wooded area," Kentucky State Police Trooper Sarah Burgess said at a news briefing. "At this time, there are no reports of residence damage."

Fort Campbell is located near the Tennessee border, about 60 miles (97 kilometres) northwest of Nashville, and the crash occurred in the Trigg County, Kentucky, community of Cadiz.

Nick Tomaszewski, who lives about a mile from where the crash occurred, said he saw two helicopters flying over his house moments before the crash.

"For whatever reason last night my wife and I were sitting there looking out on the back deck and I said "Wow, those two helicopters look low and they look kind of close to one another tonight," he said.

The helicopters flew over and looped back around and moments later "we saw what looked like a firework went off in the sky."

"All of the lights in their helicopter went out. It was like they just poofed ... and then we saw a huge glow like a fireball," Tomaszewski said.

Flyovers for training exercises happen almost daily and the helicopters typically fly low but not so close together, he said.

"There were two back to back. We typically see one and then see another one a few minutes later, and we just saw two of them flying together last night," he said.

Members of the Kentucky Senate stood for a moment of silence Thursday morning in honour of the crash victims.

"We do not know the extent of what has gone on, but I understand it is bad and there has been a substantial loss of life of our military," Senate President Robert Stivers told the sombre chamber.

Last month, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed along an Alabama highway during a training exercise.

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Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”

Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.

The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.

Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.

Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.

Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.