Canadian military helicopter goes missing during NATO exercise off Greece

A helicopter based onboard the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton went missing on late April 29 during operations in waters between Greece and Italy.

One member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was killed and five other members remain missing following the accident, the Canadian National Defense confirmed.

Search operations are ongoing by air and maritime assets from Canada, Greece, Italy, Turkey and the United States, NATO Maritime Command said.

The SAR operations are coordinated by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) and are being conducted west of the island of Kefalonia, the Hellenic Navy said in a statement.

The CH-148 Cyclone helicopter was involved in Operation Reassurance as part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). At the time of the accident, the Canadian ship was conducting collaborative training with Italian and Turkish ships. The Cyclone was conducting concurrent flight operations.

2/2 Search and rescue efforts are currently underway.
As this is evolving, we have no further information to provide at this time.

— Canadian Armed Forces Operations (@CFOperations) April 29, 2020

Naval Today Staff