By Ashley Young
A helicopter serving with a NATO naval task force crashed in international waters between Greece and Italy on Wednesday, leaving one military member dead and five others missing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today.
Four Royal Canadian Air Force members and two Royal Canadian Navy members were on board at the time.
“All of them are heroes. Each of them will leave a void that cannot be filled,” Trudeau said.Nova Scotia Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, a maritime systems engineering officer originally from Toronto, is confirmed dead. Those still missing were identified by name. They are Capt. Brenden MacDonald, a pilot originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Capt. Kevin Hagen, a pilot originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia.Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin, an air combat systems officer originally from Trois-Rivières, Québec. Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke, a naval weapons officer originally from Truro, Nova Scotia.Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, an airborne electronic sensor operator originally from Guelph, Ontario.
Rear Admiral Craig Baines, maritime commander for the Royal Canadian Navy, thanked allies for their “steadfast” support as he provided an update on rescue efforts late Thursday.
“A search on the ocean is always very difficult, even in relatively calm conditions. Very small objects in the water are very difficult to find over long periods of time as wind and current expands the search area,” he said.
“So even in perfect conditions it is a difficult thing to do a search on the water. But they are continuing, and they will continue to search as long as they still believe there is an opportunity to find survivors.”The six members on board were on a six-month deployment that began in January. There will be many questions in the coming days about how the tragedy occurred, Trudeau said.
“I can assure you, we will get answers in due course.”