UPDATED: Helicopter crashes near Blackwater State Forest

A TH57 Bell Jet Ranger military helicopter has crashed near the Blackwater State Forest north of Milton in Santa Rosa County in the vicinity of Abb Pitman and Indian Ford roads.

A Santa Rosa County Emergency Management spokeswoman confirmed the call came in at 1:27 p.m. and county rescue officers “are working an accident” and that “it looks like it’s a military aircraft.”

“The initial report is that everyone was out of the plane,” the spokeswoman reported, but no word is known about their injuries, if any.

According to Lori Aprilliano, a public information officer at NAS Whiting Field, the helicopter is assigned to training Air Wing 5, and had two occupants, who “got out of their accord, but they are being transported to a local hospital for evaluation.”

Aprilliano was uncertain if the occupants were an instructor and student, though the helicopter is a training aircraft used in pilot instruction.

An investigation will be held into the cause of the accident, Aprilliano said.