KABUL (Pajhwok): Three people were killed when two helicopters collided in mid-air near an airport in the US state of Oregon, while a nearby highway was closed following the incident, local officials said.
According to CNN, the collision occurred at around 2:15pm on Thursday near McMinnville Municipal Airport.
Sam Elliott, a Yamhill County official, told a news conference that the victims were Madi Asbo, 22, a flight instructor from Texas; Tyler Sturdevant, 38, a pilot from Oregon; and a student pilot from the United Kingdom.
Elliott said Asbo and the student pilot were aboard one helicopter, while Sturdevant was the sole occupant of the other.
Officials said both helicopters crashed in a private agricultural field near McMinnville Municipal Airport.
The red helicopter was destroyed in the collision, while the green one crashed upside down in the field.
McMinnville is located about 40 miles southwest of Portland.
The Oregon Department of Transportation said on Thursday that a one-mile section of Highway 233 near the crash site had been closed. No reopening time had been announced.
Local officials urged the public to stay away from the crash site and remain patient while emergency crews dealt with the incident.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was leading the investigation, with the FAA also conducting its own inquiry.
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