Eight people died when a US B-52 bomber crashed and erupted into a catastrophic fire shortly after take-off at an air force base in California on Monday, officials said.
The heavy bomber was on a routine testing mission with a mixture of military, government and civilian contractors on board when it came down in a huge fireball at Edwards Air Force Base, 95km (60 miles) north of Los Angeles.
Footage of the aftermath of the crash, which officials said was “unsurvivable”, showed a large charred patch of ground on which almost nothing remained of the huge plane.
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“Edwards Air Force Base experienced a horrible tragedy, and we lost eight great Americans,” Colonel James Hayes told reporters at the base.
Hayes said the B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range bomber used by the US military since the 1950s, was on a test sortie as part of a radar modernisation process.
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“It took off, and immediately after take-off, crashed and burst into flames,” he said, adding emergency services quickly swung into action, but soon determined that there would be no one to rescue.