SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A US Apache attack helicopter crashed into a hill in Paju city, Gyeonggi Province in South Korea, at around 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT) Saturday, killing two US crewmen, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

    The AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopter went down during a routine training exercise near its military base in Paju, some 40 kilometers north to Seoul, Yonhap quoted a United States Forces Korea (USFK) spokesman Kim Yong-kyu as reporting.

    One of the two US soldiers aboard the helicopter was killed instantly and the other crew member was sent to a nearby hospital in "critical" condition, before he died later in the day, Yonhap said.

    The Longbow, equipped with a fire control radar and fire-and-forget air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, is designed to combat armor threats. The aircraft also boasts 2.75-inch rockets and a 30-millimeter chain gun.

    The cause of the accident is under investigation, the spokesman said. Pilot error and sudden changes in the wind current may have contributed to the accident, reported Yonhap.

    A crash investigation team has been dispatched to the site and has cordoned off the area so the wreckage can be examined in detail.

    Currently, some 32,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea. Enditem