/ CBS News

Three people were killed when a U.S. National Guard helicopter crashed Friday on the Texas southern border, officials said.

A UH-27 Lakota helicopter crashed just before 4 p.m., local time, while on a support mission near Rio Grande City along the U.S-Mexico border, according to a statement from Joint Task Force North.

Two soldiers and one U.S. Border Patrol agent were killed and another soldier was injured.

The cause is under investigation, JTF-North said. 

A National Guard spokesperson previously told CBS News that the helicopter went down in La Grulla, Texas, located about 40 miles west of the border city of McAllen.

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report. 

Faris Tanyos

Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.