Two agents with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team were killed Friday in a training accident, AP reports.
An FBI spokesperson told AP the accident occurred off the Virginia Beach coast and they are still investigating.
ABC affiliate WJLA reports the Quantico, Va.-based agents were participating in a training exercise involving "at least one military helicopter."
After the accident, the two agents were brought to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, according to WVEC:
It remains unclear when the agents were brought in, or if the hospital had been alerted prior to their arrival.
The Norfolk Medical Examiner’s office has not released a cause of death for the two agents, and further information will likely be unavailable until Monday morning.
"We mourn the loss of two brave and courageous men," FBI Director Robert Mueller said in the statement to AP. "Like all who serve on the Hostage Rescue Team, they accept the highest risk each and every day, when training and on operational missions, to keep our nation safe. Our hearts are with their wives, children, and other loved ones who feel their loss most deeply. And they will always be part of the FBI Family."
The agents were identified as Christopher Lorek, 41, and Stephen Shaw, 40, according to AP.
The FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) was established in 1983 as a federal counter-terrorist unit, similar in structure to law enforcement SWAT teams. They are often deployed to hostage crises and other high-threat situations within the United States.
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