Minnesota National Guard Loses Contact With UH-60 Black Hawk

A Minnesota Army National Guard helicopter is missing after taking off from an aviation facility in Minnesota on Thursday.

According to Army Col. Joe Sharkey, director of communications for the Minnesota National Guard, the UH-60 Black Hawk lost communication with the ground Thursday afternoon nine minutes after taking off from the Army aviation facility in St. Cloud, Minnesota at around 1:55 p.m.

Sharkey did not provide any information about how many people were on board the helicopter and where the flight was bound to.

Search efforts are currently ongoing for the four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter.

"The Minnesota Army National Guard is currently trying to work with local authorities in St. Cloud based on its flight pattern," Sharkey told ABC News.

In another statement, Minnesota National Guard Master Sgt. Blair Heusdens reiterated the same notion.
"We do not have contact with the helicopter but we do not quite yet know what the situation is. We're working to figure it out," Heusdens is quoted as saying by the SC Times.

The St. Paul Fire Department has deployed a rescue squadron in search of the missing aircraft.
— Saint Paul Fire Dept (@StPaulFireDept) December 5, 2019

​Multiple law enforcement agencies are reportedly trying to determine the location of the passengers' cell phones in an effort to locate the helicopter.

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