Australian authorities have lost hope of finding survivors after an army helicopter with four crew members crashed over the weekend, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Monday.
The discovery of “significant debris” from the aircraft led rescuers to abandon the idea of ??finding those on board alive, Mr Marles said.
The helicopter, a European-made Taipan MRH-90, was taking part in large-scale military maneuvers with the United States, Japan, France, Germany and South Korea.
It crashed overnight from Friday to Saturday off Hamilton Island, in the state of Queensland (northeast).
“The impact has been terrible, and that’s part of the reason we’re moving from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” Mr Marles told reporters.
Australia’s fleet of more than 40 Taipan helicopters – due to be retired by the end of 2024 – will be grounded until investigators have an idea of ??the causes of the crash, Mr Marles said.
“They won’t fly again until we understand what happened and make changes or act on them.”
Talisman Saber’s military maneuvers, involving 30,000 military personnel, include ground combat, amphibious landings and air operations. They had been briefly suspended on Saturday following the crash.
These two weeks of exercises, which aim to demonstrate the strength of Western military alliances, are due to end on August 4.
Australian officials have previously complained that they have been forced to repeatedly ground the Taipans, citing maintenance and spare parts supply difficulties.
Earlier this year, the fleet was grounded a month after an engine failed on a helicopter during a night exercise, forcing the crew to ditch in the ocean.
Prior to this incident, Canberra had announced plans to replace its aging Taipan helicopters with American-made Black Hawks.
Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Angus Campbell said authorities will do their utmost to find the bodies and recover the wreckage.
Mr Campbell said efforts to find the four men have been complicated by ‘strong currents and tides’ in the area, adding sonar has been used to find pieces of the wreckage and divers will also be deployed .
07/31/2023 07:48:24 – Sydney (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
