All eight people who were on a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber that crashed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday are presumed dead, officials said. <\/p>\n
The crash occurred during a \u201croutine test mission\u201d just after 11 a.m. Monday, and \u201cinitial indications are that the crash was not survivable,\u201d military officials said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The identities of those on board were not immediately available, nor was a cause for the crash, which is under investigation.<\/p>\n News of a crash began to circulate on social media<\/a> Monday morning after a huge plume of smoke appeared to be rising from the remote Air Force base, visible from pockets of the high desert in northern Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n The Air Force base initially only confirmed<\/a> that a B-52 Stratofortress crashed \u201cshortly after takeoff\u201d at the base\u2019s airfield at 11:20 a.m.<\/p>\n \u201cEmergency crews immediately responded to the scene and the situation is ongoing,\u201d a spokesperson for the base said in a statement.<\/p>\n Soon after, the base said the airfield had been closed and all inbound aircraft were being diverted. Visitor passes were also being suspended for the day \u201cto focus entirely on emergency response operations,\u201d the update said<\/a>. <\/p>\n At a news conference Monday afternoon, Col. James Hayes said that relatives of the victims were being notified.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost eight great Americans. This crash is deemed to be unsurvivable,\u201d Hayes told reporters<\/a>, \u201cand right now, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their loved ones.\u201d <\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom posted<\/a> condolences Monday evening, saying, \u201cMy thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Edwards Air Force Base community impacted by this tragic incident.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t immediately clear what agencies were responding to the incident, but Edwards Air Force Base has its own fire department, with five fire stations across the base. <\/p>\n The Los Angeles County Fire Department said Monday afternoon that it was not responding to any incidents at the base. The Kern County Fire Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n Edwards Air Force Base is primarily in rural southeast Kern County, but part of the base stretches into east San Bernardino County and north L.A. County, not far from Lancaster.<\/p>\n The B-52 Stratofortress is described by the military<\/a> as a \u201clong-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions,\u201d known as the \u201cbackbone of the manned strategic bomber force for the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n