Search for missing helicopter crew shifts from rescue to recovery
Military finds more remains, but they can’t be identified yet
After scouring a littered seascape with its NATO allies, a Canadian Forces warship formally ended its search for survivors Friday after its maritime helicopter crashed off the coast of Greece.
The search for five lost crew in the Wednesday Cyclone helicopter crash formally ended after three days, the Canadian Forces said.
Six military personnel were aboard the helicopter when it went down in the Mediterranean Sea as it was returning to the Halifax-based frigate, HMCS Fredericton.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” Rear Admiral Craig Baines, the commander of the navy’s maritime command, told reporters on a windswept pier in Halifax.
The Fredericton, as well as Turkish, Italian, Greek ships, helicopters and planes, searched the area for survivors and came up short, he said.
“While searches on the sea are never easy, these units have completely saturated the area for the duration of the search over a known crash location,” Baines said. “So we are certain that if there were survivors, we would have found them within the past 48 hours.”
Baines confirmed the search for five Canadians service members had formally turned into “search and recovery efforts” instead of a rescue effort. The body of Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough was previously recovered from the wreckage.
The Forces said it also recovered the remains believed to be those of people aboard the helicopter, but they can’t yet be identified. Baines said Italian and Turkish ships are remaining at the scene of the accident to assist with recovery operations for at least the next 48 hours.
The helicopter was part of the Fredericton’s NATO mission when it went down while concluding a training exercise.
The Fredericton was bound for an Italian port and was expected to arrive Saturday. The crew planned to hold a vigil for their lost comrades.
“Upon arrival in Italy, the ship will transfer the remains to our team on the ground who will facilitate their return to Canada via Canadian military airlift,” Baines said. “The remains of our fallen will be brought home next week.”
Baines said Fredericton’s crew would remain in Italy for several days before returning to resume its role in the NATO mission.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all Canadians were mourning the loss of six military members.
“Every day these brave Canadians in uniform put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country and our citizens safe, and together, we will honour their service to Canada and our closest allies,” Trudeau said in a statement.
“I also thank our NATO allies who worked side by side with members of our Armed Forces to search for the fallen.”
Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, said it was a “particularly difficult” situation for the families of those who died.
“What makes this all the more difficult to bear is our inability — thus far — to recover all of our fallen comrades,” Vance said Friday in his weekly letter to troops.
Vance said an investigation would hopefully find the cause of the crash.
“In the meantime, we grieve.”