Subscribe
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Romanian Minister of Defense Mircea Dusa tour Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, on June 5, 2014. In a Pentagon statement on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, Hagel offered condolences to the Romania after a military helicopter crash killed eight servicemembers.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Romanian Minister of Defense Mircea Dusa tour Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, on June 5, 2014. In a Pentagon statement on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, Hagel offered condolences to the Romania after a military helicopter crash killed eight servicemembers. (Scott W. Whiting/U.S. Marine Corps)

Romanian defense ministry officials said eight Romanian military personnel are dead and two were injured en route to a NATO exercise when their helicopter crashed in central Romania Friday morning.

Ministry officials said the IAR-330 crashed near Malancrav, about 220 miles northwest of Bucharest.

The Associated Press reports Romanian Defense Minister Mircea Dusa and prosecutors were headed to the hard to reach site and would not identify the dead until families were notified.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel offered his deepest condolences to the families of the personnel who lost their lives to train with U.S. forces.

“Since joining NATO a decade ago, Romania has been a stalwart ally and partner of the United States, and the American military deeply appreciates the dedication and sacrifices of Romanian troops who have served alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Europe” Hagel said. “As we mourn this loss, we reaffirm our commitment to defending our shared interests and values, and to strengthening our collective defense.”

news@stripes.com

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now