Three American crew members died Thursday when a C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in the Snowy Monaro region of southern Australia’s New South Wales state, officials said. Coulson Aviation of Oregon said in a statement that one of its C-130 Lockheed large air tankers was lost after it left Richmond in New South Wales with three aboard, carrying retardant for a firefighting mission. Unfortunately while on a firebombing mission today in Southern New South Wales, Australia Tanker 134 flown by Coulson Aviation was lost. Coulson grounded other firefighting aircraft as a precaution pending investigation, reducing planes available to firefighters in New South Wales and neighboring Victoria state. Also Thursday, Canberra Airport was temporarily closed because of nearby wildfires, and residents south of Australia’s capital were told to seek shelter.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 23, 2020 05:28 UTC