Sailors in chopper ditching

THREE Royal Australian Navy officers suffered minor injuries when their helicopter crashed in the Philippine Sea.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed on Thursday that the HMAS Brisbane was nearby, and rescued the three navy personnel overnight.

Mr Dutton (pictured) said an investigation would be carried out urgently to assess “what went wrong”.

“We want to learn the lessons (from this),” Mr Dutton said.

The aircraft was operating from HMAS Brisbane as part of a regional prese n c e deployment with HMAS Warramunga, when the crew were forced to perform an emergency landing in the water.

HMAS Brisbane deployed boats and the crew was rescued within 20 minutes.

Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond, commended the crews of both ships for their quick response.

“The successful rescue is credit to the devotion to duty and skill of the officers and sailors of HMAS Brisbane,” he said. “Their immediate actions ensured the survival of the aircrew”