4 airmen are lacking after their MRH90 crashed into the ocean off Queensland on Friday
4 Australian airmen are lacking after their helicopter went down into waters off the coast of Queensland throughout a joint army train with the US, prompting a search and rescue operation by Canberra’s army.
The crash occurred at round 10:30 pm native time on Friday, Australian Protection Minister Richard Marles mentioned, noting that the MRH90 helicopter was flying a two-aircraft mission as a part of the Talisman Sabre 2023 drills with the US Marines.
“Sadly, the 4 aircrew who had been on board are but to be discovered,” Marles mentioned in a joint assertion with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Australian Protection Ministry later mentioned “army and civilian search and rescue plane and watercraft” had been conducting search and rescue efforts close to the positioning of the incident, including that the helicopter crashed in waters close to Lindeman Island, situated about 10 miles (15 kilometers) off the coast of Queensland.
Based on the Related Press, a rescue helicopter noticed a wreckage within the neighborhood of the suspected crash website, although officers haven’t confirmed whether or not the particles got here from the lacking plane.
US Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who’re visiting Australia for talks with senior army management, spoke in regards to the search efforts on Saturday.
“It’s all the time robust when you’ve got accidents in coaching, however… the explanation that we prepare to such excessive requirements is in order that we could be profitable and we will shield lives after we are known as to reply any form of disaster,” Austin mentioned.
Australian Brigadier Damian Hill, who directs this yr’s iteration of the Talisman Sabre drills, mentioned the workouts could be positioned on maintain.
Scheduled to run from July 22 by August 4, the wargames are held each two years by Washington and Canberra. This yr’s train is ready to be the most important to this point, with some 30,000 troops from 13 nations collaborating in a variety of maneuvers, together with amphibious landings, simulated air and floor fight, in addition to naval operations.
The crash close to Queensland is the second accident involving a MRH90 this yr, with one other plummeting into the ocean off the coast of New South Wales throughout a nighttime counterterrorism drill final March. All 10 crewmembers survived.
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