Tragedy struck a just-married couple in the US state of Texas when they were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in northwest Uvalde County as they left the wedding ceremony, authorities said.
The Houstonian, the student-run newspaper of Sam Houston State University, confirmed that Bearkats Will Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler were killed when the helicopter departing their wedding ceremony crashed north of Uvalde.
Will Byler was studying agriculture engineering and Bailee Ackerman Byler was pursuing agricultural communication.
The groom's grandfather William Byler confirmed to 12newsnow.com that the helicopter went down Saturday at their family ranch. His grandson Bill Byler, his new wife and the aircraft's pilot all died.
According to the couple's wedding website, they were to be married Saturday in Uvalde, where the Byler family ranch is located.
Uvalde Police received a call from an aviation monitoring centre around midnight Saturday notifying them of a possible down aircraft north of Uvalde County.
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Several agencies, including Texas DPS troopers, Game Wardens, Border Patrol, and the Uvalde Fire Department aided police in their search for the aircraft.
Police say that shortly after sunrise Sunday, the accident was located.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the incident involved a Bell 206B a two-bladed, twin-engine chopper.
A spokesperson for the Uvalde Fire Department said that multiple people died in the crash.