Three US marines are dead and eight remain in hospital after they were injured in an aircraft crash on the Tiwi Islands near Darwin during a multinational military exercise.
There were 23 US marines on board the Osprey aircraft when it crashed on one of the Tiwi Islands about 9.30am on Sunday.
Twenty were flown to Royal Darwin Hospital after the crash while three lost their lives.
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has confirmed that 12 marines have since been released from the hospital while eight remain being treated for injuries.
One of the marines is still in the intensive care unit.
The rescue efforts have now turned to recovery efforts.
"The emergency operation centre will now focus on recovery of the three marines with dignity," NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said.
"This recovery and investigation will be prolonged, enduring and complex.
"We are planning on being at the crash site for at least 10 days."
The identities of the three deceased marines are yet to be released.
In the meantime, officials have given their condolences to the families of those affected.
"Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Marines who lost their lives in this deadly crash," US President Joe Biden said.
"We are praying for those who also suffered injuries."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his heart and the hearts of all Australians go out to the families of the marines who lost their lives and those injured.
"At a time like this, we reach out to our American brothers and sisters to express our condolences to them, our commitment to continue to work with them," he said.
"This is a difficult time for families, friends and all of the US defence personnel."
What unfolded on Sunday
Two Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft took off from Darwin heading to the Tiwi Islands, about 80km away, on Sunday morning.
They were part of exercise Predators Run, which involves the militaries of the United States, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor, the Australian Defence Department said.
Reports came in that one of the aircraft had crashed two kilometres inland on Melville Island.
Air traffic control recordings revealed the pilot declaring an emergency.
"We are just declaring an emergency on behalf of dumptruck 11 flight single MV 22 in the vicinity of Melville Island," they said.
"When asked if there was a fire he replied there was a "significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site".
An emergency operation centre monitoring bushfires was redirected to launch a rescue mission, with the ADF, CareFlight, the National Critical Care and Response Centre and police also involved.
Locals saw smoke from the crash after the incident.
"It was like a big mushroom of black smoke and then we had a look real hard and we could see helicopters flying around where the black smoke was so I knew something was going down," a local told ABC radio.
Since the Osprey started flying 33 years ago, 51 service members have been killed in incidents involving the aircraft.
However, it has a lower mishap rate compared to many other aircraft flown by the US military.
The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft.
It takes off like a helicopter, then the engines tilt forward enabling it fly at much faster speeds than a helicopter.
Some were grounded after a fatal crash in California this year.
An Osprey crashed off Rockhampton in 2017 after clipping the deck of a US ship, killing three US Marines.
