NUMERALLA, Australia (NBC) – The wildfires in Australia have claimed the lives of three Americans. The firefighters, who were battling the flames from the air, were killed when their plane crashed.
The three victims were flying a firefighting tanker in a remote part of southeastern Australia when the plane lost contact.
New South Wales State Rural Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons stated, “Tragically, there appear to be no survivors as a result of the crash down in the snowy Monaro area. It impacted heavily with the ground and initial reports are that there was a large fireball associated with the impact of the plane as it hit the ground.”
The plane, a Lockheed C-130, was owned by Canadian-based Coulson Aviation, a company contracted with New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
Overnight, the company’s American division, based in Oregon, released a statement saying the plane was “flying with a load of retardant and was on a firebombing mission.”
The company plans to send a team to help with emergency operations, adding: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three crew members on board.”
Last summer, the same plane began flying missions across California, battling wildfires back home.
Earlier this month, dozens of American firefighters received a hero’s welcome when they arrived in Sydney and at least 200 Americans from the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service have also come down to help. They’re welcome reinforcement for exhausted local crews who had been battling the flames for months.
And the U.S. is sending more resources down here to help fight those flames. NBC News was told that a group of about 40 firefighters from across the country are traveling to Australia Thursday.
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