{"id":2443151,"date":"2026-06-03T14:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2443151"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:08:48","slug":"three-members-of-royal-navy-killed-in-devon-helicopter-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/three-members-of-royal-navy-killed-in-devon-helicopter-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Three members of Royal Navy killed in Devon helicopter crash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-1ihz57b-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"independent\">\n<div data-theme-wrapper=\"independent\" style=\"display:contents\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveMorningHeadlines\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM cLEJmn\">Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM iTZFOX\">Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM iGYpOF\">Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/morningHeadlines1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Morning Headlines\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Three members of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/royal-navy\">Royal Navy<\/a> have died in a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/devon-helicopter-crash-sourton-down-b2988553.html\">helicopter crash<\/a> in Devon, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/ministry-of-defence\">Ministry of Defence<\/a> said.<\/p>\n<p>The helicopter crashed in a field at Sourton Down, near Okehampton, just before 4am on Wednesday. Members were taking part in a training exercise on the Royal Navy Merlin Mk4 helicopter when it hit the ground.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/devon-and-cornwall-police\">Devon and Cornwall Police<\/a> said emergency services were notified at around 3.45am after reports of the incident. <\/p>\n<p>Sir Keir Starmer said the deaths of the personnel was \u201cutterly tragic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on social media, the Ministry of Defence said: \u201cIt is with deep sadness that we can confirm three members of the Royal Navy have died during a helicopter training exercise on Wednesday, 3 June near Sourton, Devon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe families of the service personnel have been informed and have requested a period of grace before further details are released. Our thoughts and sympathies are with their families and friends at this sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Defence secretary John Healey said he was \u201cdevastated by the loss of three service personnel\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey served with excellence and will be much missed. All our thoughts are with their families, friends and those they served with at this incredibly sad time. I thank the emergency services for their response.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 hWMrrr\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/14\/cca3d548c09c36d1dd0f4825feb0e010Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwNTc4OTIz-2.84827364.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/14\/cca3d548c09c36d1dd0f4825feb0e010Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwNTc4OTIz-2.84827364.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/14\/cca3d548c09c36d1dd0f4825feb0e010Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzgwNTc4OTIz-2.84827364.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The helicopter crashed just before 4am on Wednesday in Devon\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">The helicopter crashed just before 4am on Wednesday in Devon<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The nearest Royal Navy base is HMNB Devonport in Plymouth. The Okehampton area lies between the Navy\u2019s air bases at Yeovilton in Somerset and Culdrose in Cornwall. <\/p>\n<p>The scene of the crash is close to Okehampton battle camp, a military facility on the edge of Dartmoor, which has been used for training Merlin helicopter crews from the Commando Helicopter Force.<\/p>\n<p>General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, the head of the Navy, said in a statement: \u201cI am deeply saddened to share the news that three crew members onboard a Royal Navy Merlin Mk4 helicopter have died after it crashed in the early hours of this morning near Sourton, Devon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know this will come as a huge shock to all in our Naval community, and my deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and loved ones impacted by this tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to thank Devon and Cornwall Police and the search and rescue teams who responded to the incident this morning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn investigation is underway and further updates will be provided in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-awdjp1-2 cbpRGD sc-awdjp1-3 image align-center\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cXcwgU\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"2\" class=\"sc-awdjp1-0 gJdBsk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/9\/17\/The-helicopter-crashed-into-a-field-near-Sourton-Down-near-Okehampton.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/9\/17\/The-helicopter-crashed-into-a-field-near-Sourton-Down-near-Okehampton.png?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2026\/06\/03\/9\/17\/The-helicopter-crashed-into-a-field-near-Sourton-Down-near-Okehampton.png?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The helicopter crashed into a field near Sourton Down, near Okehampton\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 YlsWU hgzWpY\">The helicopter crashed into a field near Sourton Down, near Okehampton<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 gjqsiM\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->Google Maps<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday that it was a \u201cdeeply worrying time\u201d for the families of those involved in the crash.<\/p>\n<p>Several road closures were put in place around the A386 and A30 Sourton Cross slip and services area on Wednesday morning following the incident. <\/p>\n<p>Devon and Cornwall Police had advised drivers to seek alternative routes around the road closures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Three members of the Royal Navy have died in a helicopter crash in Devon, the Ministry of Defence said. The helicopter crashed in a field [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2443152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2443151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Three-members-of-Royal-Navy-killed-in-Devon-helicopter-crash-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2443151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443153,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443151\/revisions\/2443153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2443151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2443151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2443151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}