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Cause of Fort Hunter Liggett accident released after 22 soldiers injured

Cause of Fort Hunter Liggett accident released after 22 soldiers injured
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Cause of Fort Hunter Liggett accident released after 22 soldiers injured
A Blackhawk helicopter caused two tents to collapse and injured 22 Army soldiers at Fort Hunter Liggett U.S. Army post Wednesday night.--Watch Thursday's press conference in the video player above."A U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter landing’s rotor wash blew over a tent structure and injured a number soldiers. There are NO FATALITIES," Fort Hunt Liggett wrote on Facebook.The accident happened during an annual combat training exercise for thousands of U.S. and Canadian military members. U.S. Army Reserve Col. Dave Heflin said, "The pilot was practicing the ability to land in order to deliver medical casualties as part of the training scenario."The tents that collapsed were primarily used as sleeping tents. The injured soldiers were from a 228th combat support hospital based in San Antonio Texas."Many of the participating soldiers are medical professionals in both their Army and civilian careers, and therefore were able to render immediate aid following the incident. Fort Hunter Liggett emergency services teams arrived on site and continued the triage process," Heflin said.The Greenfield Fire Department initially told KSBW late Wednesday night that there were three fatalities, however, no deaths resulted from the major accident.All of the injured soldiers had been released from hospitals as of Thursday afternoon.The training operation has been paused while the Army investigates what went wrong, including, why the helicopter attempted to land so close to tents where soldiers sleep."We are in a pause. Once we go through the process we do with accidents like this, then we will continue to train," Heflin said.Fort Hunter Liggett U.S. Army Col. Kerry Norman thanked the soldiers' families for their patience."This is always difficult, and the safety of our soldiers is always a concern. Fort Hunter Liggett is the 7th largest Army installation. Last year alone we trained over 45,000 personnel in support of the Army’s mission, in support of our nation’s readiness. This year we expect to train over 60,000 personnel. Safety is our number one priority. I want to thank the families for their patience and their support," Norman said.

A Blackhawk helicopter caused two tents to collapse and injured 22 Army soldiers at Fort Hunter Liggett U.S. Army post Wednesday night.

--Watch Thursday's press conference in the video player above.

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"A U.S. Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter landing’s rotor wash blew over a tent structure and injured a number soldiers. There are NO FATALITIES," Fort Hunt Liggett wrote on Facebook.

The accident happened during an annual combat training exercise for thousands of U.S. and Canadian military members.

UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter 
BRIAN HARRIS/U.S. ARMY
UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter 

U.S. Army Reserve Col. Dave Heflin said, "The pilot was practicing the ability to land in order to deliver medical casualties as part of the training scenario."

The tents that collapsed were primarily used as sleeping tents. The injured soldiers were from a 228th combat support hospital based in San Antonio Texas.

"Many of the participating soldiers are medical professionals in both their Army and civilian careers, and therefore were able to render immediate aid following the incident. Fort Hunter Liggett emergency services teams arrived on site and continued the triage process," Heflin said.

Fort Hunter Liggett
KSBW
Fort Hunter Liggett

The Greenfield Fire Department initially told KSBW late Wednesday night that there were three fatalities, however, no deaths resulted from the major accident.

All of the injured soldiers had been released from hospitals as of Thursday afternoon.

The training operation has been paused while the Army investigates what went wrong, including, why the helicopter attempted to land so close to tents where soldiers sleep.

"We are in a pause. Once we go through the process we do with accidents like this, then we will continue to train," Heflin said.

Fort Hunter Liggett U.S. Army Col. Kerry Norman thanked the soldiers' families for their patience.

"This is always difficult, and the safety of our soldiers is always a concern. Fort Hunter Liggett is the 7th largest Army installation. Last year alone we trained over 45,000 personnel in support of the Army’s mission, in support of our nation’s readiness. This year we expect to train over 60,000 personnel. Safety is our number one priority. I want to thank the families for their patience and their support," Norman said.