U.S. Black Hawk crashes in Germany

BERLIN (Reuters) - A U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter crashed in a forest near a motorway in south-western Germany, police in the state of Hesse said on Wednesday, and German media said two people had been killed. A spokesman for the U.S. Army Europe said there were at least three people in the Black Hawk, a transport helicopter.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the crash and the spokesman could not say where the helicopter was flying to or from. Many parts of Germany have had heavy snowfall in the last day or two.

The crash happened near a motorway junction at Viernheim and Lorsch, near Heidelberg.

The U.S. Army Europe has headquarters in Heidelberg and U.S. forces have an airbase not far away in Ramstein.