A US B-52 strategic bomber crashed at an Air Force base in California on the 15th (local time), killing all eight people on board.

According to the Associated Press and others, at around 11:20 a.m. that day, a B-52 Stratofortress crashed during a routine test flight mission at the airfield of Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Military authorities said all eight crew members aboard the bomber were killed in the accident.

AP reported that aerial footage showed that almost none of the aircraft remained intact.

The exact cause of the crash has not yet been identified. However, military authorities stated that, after reviewing the crash footage, they concluded it was an unrecoverable crash with no possibility of survival.

The B-52 Stratofortress is a representative long-range bomber of the US Air Force that has been in service since the 1950s. It was designed to carry everything from conventional weapons to nuclear missiles. It has been used in the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War, as well as in recent military operations conducted in Iran.

Edwards Air Force Base, where the accident occurred, is located in the desert about 160㎞ north of Los Angeles (LA).