Four people were killed Tuesday after a military-contracted helicopter crashed on the Hawaii island of Kauai, U.S. media reported, citing officials, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The crash happened at about 10 a.m. Tuesday local time (1800 GMT) near Kauai's Pacific Missile Range Facility during a training operation, Hawaii News Now, a major local news outlet, reported, adding that the identities of those killed and whether they were civilians or in the military was not released.
Images posted on social media showed black smoke billowing from the crash site near the coastline.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a tweet that it's investigating the "crash of a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter near Kekaha, Hawaii."
The crashed helicopter was operated by Croman Corporation, an Oregon-based contractor, which provides "range support" to the missile facility, Hawaii News Now reported.