Eight people are believed to be dead after a B-52 bomber crashed soon after take-off on Monday morning at a US Air Force base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert, the US military said.
“Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” Edwards Air Force Base posted on social media.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.
There was no information yet on the crew, however aerial footage showed virtually nothing left of an aircraft. Black smoke rose from a large swathe of charred desert at the base near what appeared to be a runway, with emergency vehicles nearby. The military has not said whether the bomber was armed.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, typically crewed by five people, is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in conflicts involving the US military from Vietnam to Iran.
The plane crashed at around 11.20am, the military said on social media. By the afternoon, the airfield remained closed and all inbound aircraft were being diverted.
Non-commercial visitor passes for the base were suspended “to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations”, officials said in a statement.
