Toronto, Apr 30 (UNI) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed in a statement that a Canadian military helicopter had gone missing off the coast of Greece.
On Wednesday, Greek outlet militaire.gr reported that a Canadian Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopter, with six people on board, disappeared 52 nautical miles (60 miles) west of Cephalonia island in the Ionian Sea. According to the outlet, one service member was killed, with the rest still missing.
“A Canadian helicopter involved in [Operation] REASSURANCE with NATO allies has gone missing off the coast of Greece. I have spoken with Minister [of National Defense] Harjit Sajjan, and search and rescue efforts are currently underway. Updates will be provided as soon as possible,” Trudeau said via Twitter on late Wednesday.
The helicopter was part of Operation REASSURANCE, a NATO mission in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to Canada’s Department of National Defense, the operation is the country’s largest military operation abroad, with up to 915 Canadian Armed Forces members deployed at any time.
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