A tragic incident unfolded near the Texas-Mexico border when a helicopter carrying three National Guard soldiers and one Border Patrol member crashed on Friday, resulting in the deaths of three individuals on board.
US officials disclosed the incident to Fox News, marking a somber day for military and border security operations in the area.
An earlier report by a Department of Defense official to ABC News confirmed the demise of two individuals and the injury of another in the crash of a National Guard helicopter in Texas, close to the US-Mexico border.
The helicopter went down in La Grulla, a border town near the Rio Grande in Starr County.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, the senior local official in the county, revealed that the fourth individual involved in the crash is in critical condition.
Law enforcement sources informed Fox News that the three National Guard soldiers were operating under federal orders on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security.
The crashed helicopter, a Lakota model, belonged to the New York National Guard.
This incident follows a January crash involving a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter conducting a patrol mission along the state's border with Mexico.
That helicopter lost control and crashed, causing minor hand injuries to the co-pilot and significant damage to the aircraft.
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