President Donald Trump said early Tuesday that the two pilots aboard a US Army Apache helicopter that went down near the Strait of Hormuz were safe. Speaking to reporters on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, Trump said: “Nobody was hurt.”
He added that the administration would release a fuller report later in the day.
The New York Times first reported the incident late Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to that account, the Apache came down in the vicinity of the strait and both crew members were subsequently rescued.
The cause of the crash has not been established. The Times reported it remained unclear whether the helicopter was brought down by Iranian fire, a mechanical failure, or some other problem. The US State Department and US Central Command had not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment at the time of publication.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the world’s most strategically sensitive maritime passages.
