Two firefighters were killed in the US state of Arizona while battling a wildfire that was ignited by lightning last week and has so far burned down 300 acres of land.

“The accident occurred around noon today (July 10) and involved an air attack aircraft performing aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the fire. Two crew members were on board and we are sad to report there were no survivors,” the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said.

The accident came as wildfires burn millions of acres in the western regions of the United States due to drought and high temperatures.