“The four air crew are yet to be found,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday morning, hours after an Australian Army helicopter went down in the sea off Queensland.
The MRH-90 Taipan crashed near Lindeman Island, in the Whitsundays, at about 22:30 local time on Friday, July 28, 2023. It was flying in Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest bilateral military training exercise between Australia and the United States. Four people were on board. A search and rescue mission began at once, and police said debris had been found.
Marles said the helicopter was on a mission that involved a second aircraft. Their families have been notified.
“Hopes and thoughts”
“Our hopes and thoughts are very much with the aircrew and their families,” Marles told a press conference in Brisbane. “We desperately hope for better news during the course of the day.” He added: “These are early days and there will be much more information to be provided about this incident.”
He also spoke about the risks of training. “Defence exercises which are so necessary for the readiness of our defence force are serious, they carry risk,” he said, and he reminded listeners of “the gravity of the act which comes with wearing our nation’s uniform.”
Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell called it “a terrible moment.” Campbell said the immediate focus was “finding our people and supporting their families and the rest of our team.” He thanked civil agencies, police, the public and “our US allies” for their help in the search.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Our first thoughts are with the loved ones of the missing. All Australians hold them in our hearts and we hold onto hope as the search and rescue teams go about their work right now.”
Exercise paused
Talisman Sabre also draws soldiers from Japan, France, Germany and South Korea, and defence officials paused it after the crash. The exercise was entering its second week and testing large-scale logistics, land combat, amphibious landings and air operations. Most of it is being held in regional Queensland.
Brigadier Damian Hill, the exercise director, said he had ordered a pause across Australia for all participants, “regardless of their nation,” so they could tell their families what had happened.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were in Queensland at the time for the annual Australia-US ministerial dialogue. A nine-person uncrewed underwater vehicle detachment from HMNZS Matataua, taking part in the exercise, was standing by to help with the search if needed. No New Zealand Defence Force personnel were involved in the crash.
Earlier in July, a US Army tank was caught up in a fiery crash near Rockhampton that left six people in hospital.
Sources
- Four persons missing after Australian military helicopter crashes off coast of Queensland
- Australia helicopter crash: Four military aircrew missing
- Four missing after Australian military helicopter crash off Qld coast
