The US military is expressing its condolences after the death of an elite New Zealand SAS soldier in Auckland.
Lance Corporal Nicholas Kahotea, 36, was pronounced dead after a joint exercise with the United States went wrong at the SAS training facility in Papakura on Wednesday.
It was just the first day of the joint training exercise, and the operation has since been suspended.
The training was supposed to be practicing counter-terrorism techniques and involved flying and live weapons firing.
The New Zealand Defence Force isn't saying what happened to Lance Corporal Kahotea.
Mr Peters says he couldn’t confirm whether the soldier was part of a joint New Zealand-US exercise. (Source: Other)
A spokesman for the US Special Operations Command Pacific division told 1 NEWS it was a small contingent from the US Army involved.
"We work side by side with our NZ partners around the world and we mourn the loss of their trooper and want to express our condolences to his family, friends and the nation of New Zealand," Major Kevin Boyd told 1 NEWS.
"This loss is tragic for all members of the Special Operations community and our thoughts and prayers are with the troopers family and his fellow SAS troopers."
The Special Operations Command Pacific did not confirm whether its helicopters were involved in the training exercise, or if they were used to take Lance Corporal Kahotea from the training base to Auckland Hospital.
Major Boyd told 1 NEWS realistic training is important to "ensure interoperability in times of crisis".
SHARE ME