A pair of soldiers were killed and three others hurt during some sort of training accident on Thursday, according to a U.S. Army Special Operations representative.
The soldiers involved in the incident, which involved an aircraft, were assigned to an element of the Army's Special Operations Command, the representative added. A Navy source told NBC 7 that the accident took place near San Clemente Island.
An investigation of the accident has begun, the Army representative said, and the site of the incident has been secured.
"Our sincere condolences go out the families and friends of the deceased," said the Army in a statement sent to NBC 7 on Friday morning.
Officials have not yet released the identities of those involved, pending the notification of next of kin.
San Clemente Island, which is about 70 miles west of San Diego and south of Catalina, has been under the control of the Navy since 1934, and there are more than a dozen "range and operational areas... clustered within a 60-mile radius of the island," according to the Navy, which also states on its website that "San Clemente Island has been operated by [the] Navy as a tactical training range and testing area for over 70 years."
More information will be released about the incident after the families of the soldiers are contacted, officials said.
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This story was updated at 3:08 p.m. on Aug. 28 to change the location of the incident, which an Army representative had originally placed near Coronado -- Ed.
