Navy chopper crashes in Texas, killing 3 crew

Crew member hospitalized in critical condition after accident in heavy fog

Rachel Denny Clow / The Caller-Times via AP

Firefighters battle a fire caused by the crash Wednesday night of a Navy helicopter south of Corpus Christi, Texas.

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updated 7:48 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2008

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed during a training mission, killing three crew members and injuring a fourth, a Navy spokesman said Thursday.

The injured crew member was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, said Ed Mickley, a spokesman for the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command.

The Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter was part of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Mickley said. It went down Wednesday night in a farmer's field about 4 miles south of Corpus Christi, he said.

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Lt. Sean Robertson, a spokesman for NAS Corpus Christi, told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times the crash happened during heavy fog. The newspaper said downed power lines hindered the efforts of the first rescuers.

The crash caused a fire, but firefighters extinguished the flames.