Nine killed in crash of two U.S. Army helicopters in Kentucky

(Reuters) -Nine people were killed in a crash of two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters during a routine training mission over Kentucky late on Wednesday, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Crew members were flying two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, operated by the 101st Airborne Division, which crashed at around 10:00 p.m. ET (0200 GMT Thursday) in Kentucky's Trigg County, Fort Campbell's public affairs office said earlier, without specifying the number of casualties.

"We’ve got some tough news out of Fort Campbell, with early reports of a helicopter crash, and fatalities are expected," governor Andy Beshear said in a post on Twitter, adding that local authorities and emergency services were responding to the accident.

The HH-60 is a variant of the Black Hawk helicopter designed to provide support for various military operations, including air assaults and medical evacuations, according to the Army.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma and Juby Babu in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum)