2 Elite FBI Agents Killed in Training

The FBI is mourning two members of its elite Hostage Rescue Team who were killed in a helicopter training accident off the coast of Virginia. The agents—part of the team tasked with the most difficult and urgent missions in the US—were not killed by gunfire, an FBI spokeswoman says, but few other details on the deaths were released, the Washington Post reports. Both agents were married with young families.

"We mourn the loss of two brave and courageous men," FBI Director Robert Mueller said. "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." Only two other agents have been killed in training accidents in the 30-year history of the team, which was created 30 years ago amid fears terrorists would strike the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. (More FBI stories.)