Six Americans killed in peacekeeping force helicopter crash in Egypt

The Multinational Force and Observers said one of its American members survived and was being medically evacuated.

A helicopter belonging to an international peacekeeping force crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Thursday, killing at least eight people, including six Americans, the force confirmed.

The helicopter belonged to the Multinational Force and Observers, an independent international peacekeeping body known as MFO, which monitors the 40-year-old peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

"During a routine mission in the vicinity of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, nine members of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) were involved in a helicopter crash," the MFO said in a statement.

"We are deeply saddened to report that eight uniformed MFO members were killed: six U.S. citizens, one French, and one Czech."

The MFO, an internationally recognized observer mission, said one U.S. member survived. The victims' names are being withheld while their families are informed. The U.S. Department of Defense did not yet comment but directed NBC News to the MFO statement.

The MFO said, "at this point, there is no information to indicate the crash was anything except an accident."