By Thomas I. Likness
EBC Edmonton Bureau
EDMONTON (Eagle News) — Calling them all heroes, Prime Minister Trudeau paid tribute to the six Canadian soldiers aboard a Royal Canadian Navy helicopter that crashed of the coast of Greece Wednesday.
Trudeau confirmed one body has been recovered and a search is underway for the other five.
“All of them are heroes, each of them will leave a void that cannot be filled” said Trudeau. “On behalf of all Canadian, I want to offer my deepest support to their families, their friends, their shipmates and their fellow CAF members.”
They were participating in NATO exercises as part of Operation Reassurance and flying from the Canadian frigate HMCS Fredericton
Earlier the military said families of the dead had been contacted.
General Jonathan Vance said the recovered remains were those of Sub.-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough of Nova Scotia.
“There are no words to describe the pain you feel right now, there are any words to ease it,” said Vance. “This is a time of agony for families, friends and fellow crew members.”
“There is nothing worse than sending your shipmates over the horizon and losing contact,” Vance added.
“The cause of this accident is unknown at this time,” said Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. “Search efforts are ongoing for the remaining five members.”
The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered said Sajjan.
Investigators are being dispatched to Greece to look into the circumstances of the accident.
(Eagle News Service)