Three soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard were killed Thursday when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding in for a routine maintenance test flight crashed in a farm field in central Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz confirmed.
The identities of the soldiers were not immediately released, pending notification of family.
The crash was being investigated and preliminary information on the cause was not released.
"My heart breaks for the families, the friends and fellow soldiers," Walz said at a news conference.
"The coming days will be dark and difficult."
Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, said in a tweet: "Our Minnesota National Guard family is devastated by the deaths of these soldiers. Our priority right now is ensuring that our families are taken care of."