Two US service members deployed to the US-Mexico border were killed and a third is in serious condition after a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
The accident occurred around 8:50am MDT Tuesday; the names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin are notified.
The region where the accident took place is just over the state line and west of Fort Bliss, a major Army installation in West Texas that has played a critical role in dispatching military deportation flights and served as a touchpoint for thousands of soldiers and pieces of equipment now deployed along the border.
The troops are deployed there in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
The victims were Marines from Camp Pendleton in California, according to the Washington Post.
A defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the accident occurred in a civilian vehicle, but no civilians were harmed in the incident.
The incident did not involve any of the scores of Stryker vehicles the Pentagon has sent down to the border to perform patrols, the official said.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
‘I am very saddened to learn of the tragic accident yesterday that took the lives of two of our nation’s heroes and seriously injured another,’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X.
‘My heartfelt condolences and prayers are with them, their families, and the unit.’