Three Royal Navy personnel have died after a Merlin helicopter crashed during a training exercise near Sourton in Devon early on Wednesday, the Royal Navy has confirmed.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash at Sourton Down, close to Okehampton, shortly before 4am. Devon and Cornwall Police sealed off the scene, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the aircraft was a Royal Navy Merlin.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said the three crew members had died “during a helicopter training exercise” near Sourton, adding that the families of the service personnel had been informed and had requested a period of grace before further details are released.
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the head of the Royal Navy, said he was deeply saddened by the loss and offered his condolences to the families, friends and loved ones affected.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions that he was aware of the crash and described it as a deeply worrying time for the families, later saying he was deeply saddened by the deaths and thanking the emergency services who responded.
Eyewitnesses reported a low flying aircraft followed by a loud bang in the early hours. One local described an intense flash of red lighting the sky before an explosion, with a search helicopter seen hovering over the area soon after.
The crash site lies close to Okehampton battle camp on the edge of Dartmoor, between the Royal Navy air stations at Yeovilton in Somerset and Culdrose in Cornwall, which is the home base of the Navy’s Merlin helicopter force.
Police closed the A386 at Sourton Down and the A3079 at Fowley Cross from about 5am, with the closures expected to remain in place into the early afternoon. An investigation is under way.
