Authorities announced Thursday that human remains were discovered at the spot where an Australian military chopper crashed into the sea off the country’s northeast coast.
On the night of July 28, four crew members were aboard the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter when it crashed near the Whitsunday Islands during a multinational military exercise.
Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, the army’s chief of joint operations, told reporters in Queensland that the remains were discovered by a remotely controlled underwater vehicle.
They were discovered around 40 meters (130 feet) below the water’s surface, along with helicopter wreckage, including remains of the cockpit.
Bilton stated that the debris field was “consistent with a catastrophic high impact” and that the human remains would be difficult to identify until more wreckage was discovered.
Strong currents and adverse weather, which was likely to linger far into next week, had impeded search team activities, he added.
Meanwhile, an inquiry into the reason of the crash is ongoing, but search teams have yet to locate the helicopter’s black box.
“It’s a difficult task but we will do our absolute best to find it — the black box is critical to helping us to understand what’s actually taken place,” Bilton said.
He stated that all communications from the aircraft were “normal” before it crashed.
Following the tragedy, Australia’s Taipan fleet was grounded, with Defence Minister Richard Marles stating on Monday that the helicopters would not fly again until the inquiry into the crash was completed.
The troublesome Taipans were already scheduled to depart service at the end of this year, with the Australian military moving to Black Hawk helicopters.
