(AP) – Three soldiers with the Minnesota National Guard were killed when the Black Hawk helicopter they were riding in crashed.

Gov. Tim Walz confirmed the deaths of the soldiers Thursday, but their names were not released pending notification of family.

The crash is being investigated and preliminary information on the cause of the crash is not being released.

The Guard lost contact with the helicopter shortly after it took off on a maintenance test flight from St. Cloud. Minnesota National Guard Master Sgt. Blair Heusdens says the helicopter called mayday about nine minutes after takeoff.

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