Soldiers taking part in a Talisman Sabre night exercise on an MRH90 chopper at Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks earlier this month.(Supplied: US Navy)none
This is our daily post that is shared across Twitter & Telegram and published first on here with Kindness & Love XX on peace-truth.com/
Richard Marles says defence exercises "carry risk".(ABC News)
Ace News Room With Kindness & Wisdom Provides News & Views @acebreakingnews
Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Jul: 29: 2023:
AceBreakingNews - Four crew of Australian Army chopper missing after crash in Queensland's Whitsundays amid joint military exercise with US Marines
Soldiers taking part in a Talisman Sabre night exercise on an MRH90 chopper at Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks earlier this month.(Supplied: US Navy)none
There are serious concerns for four crew members of an Australian Army helicopter missing after the chopper crashed into the ocean off the coast of north Queensland late last night.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the MRH90 helicopter, known as a Taipan, was engaging in a two-helicopter training mission and had four crew aboard when it crashed about 10:30pm.
Mr Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released a joint statement saying their thoughts were with the loved ones of the missing.
"Sadly, the four aircrew who were on board are yet to be found," the statement said.
The defence department confirmed the chopper crashed in waters near Lindeman Island, south of Hamilton Island.
Air and water crews are searching off the Queensland coast after an army helicopter ditched in the ocean.(ABC News)
" The aircraft was participating in a night-time training activity as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 when it was reported missing late Friday night," the statement said.
"Military and civilian search and rescue aircraft and watercraft are currently conducting search and rescue operations at the incident site."
The ABC understands that the helicopter had dropped off soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment shortly before the accident.
The Australian Army's MRH90 Taipan helicopter has a troubled history. (Supplied: Department of Defence)
'Our thoughts are with the crew and their families'
Defence chief Angus Campbell described the crash as a "terrible moment".
"Our focus at the moment is finding our people and supporting their families and the rest of our team," General Campbell said.
"I really deeply appreciate the assistance that has been provided by a variety of civil agencies — the Queensland Police, the Australian Maritime Safety Agency, and the public as well as our US allies."
Speaking in Brisbane this morning, Mr Marles said the second chopper immediately began a search and rescue operation, which remains underway this morning.
Richard Marles says defence exercises "carry risk".(ABC News)
" Our hopes and our thoughts are very much with the aircrew and their families," Mr Marles said.
"Our hopes are very much with the efforts of the search and rescue crews as they go about their work right now."
Mr Marles said the crew members' families had been notified.
US Marines and Australian soldiers have been conducting exercises together in the Whitsundays as part of Talisman Sabre.
The accident has overshadowed the AUSMIN talks that Mr Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong are holding in Brisbane with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ms Wong opened the meeting by calling it a "stark reminder of the risks that men and women who serve us take, and the courage they show in that in serving their country".
Mr Austin also spoke about the missing personnel, saying training accidents were "always tough".
"But the reason we train to such high standards is so that we can be successful, and we can protect lives when we are called to answer any sort of crisis," Mr Austin said.
Mr Marles said while defence exercises are necessary "they carry risk".
"And as we desperately hope for better news during the course of this day, we are reminded about the gravity of the act which comes with wearing our nation's uniform."
Taipan fleet grounded in 2019
While the cause of this accident is not yet clear, the tragedy will inevitably renew debate about the MRH90 Taipan fleet, which has been plagued by difficulties.
Ten Australian defence force personnel had to be rescued from the waters off the New South Wales south coast in March this year after their Taipan helicopter ditched into the water during a counterterrorism training exercise.
The entire Taipan fleet was also grounded back in 2019 in order to fix their tail rotor blades.
The ABC revealed in April that a critical software upgrade was not installed on all helicopters in the fleet.
In late 2021, the then defence minister Peter Dutton announced that the ADF would retire the fleet a decade earlier than scheduled, replacing them with new Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters from the United States.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and comment thank you
@acenewsservices
Peace & Truth
No comments:
Post a Comment