A Nova Scotia man says his daughter Abbigail Cowbrough is one of the victims of the Canadian military helicopter crash in the Mediterranean.
Shane Cowbrough posted a message on Facebook this morning saying his daughter died when the Cyclone helicopter went down in the sea on Wednesday during a NATO training exercise.
“I am broken and gutted,” Shane Cowbrough wrote. “Today I lost my oldest daughter Abbigail Cowbrough in the crash involving the Cyclone from HMCS Fredericton. There are no words. You made me forever proud. I will love you always, and miss you in every moment. You are the bright light in my life taken far too soon.”
A Baptist church in Dartmouth, N.S., followed, saying the church family had lost “a wonderful woman” who played the bagpipes at a Remembrance Day service last fall.
The Canadian military has not confirmed any deaths or how many people were on board, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to provide an update on the crash and search-and-rescue efforts at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time.
The Cyclone was deployed on board the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton and was participating in a NATO exercise off the coast of Greece when the incident occurred, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s Cyclone helicopters carry a crew of four, including two pilots, a tactical operator and a sensor operator with space for several passengers. They are primarily based on naval vessels and used for hunting submarines, surveillance and search and rescue.
Defence officials say the rest of the fleet has been temporarily grounded and that a military flight investigation team is expected to be deployed to the area later today.
“I express my grief over the crash of the Canadian helicopter in the Ionian Sea last night,” Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in parliament, adding he would contact Trudeau to personally express his condolences.
Greek broadcaster ERT was first to report that a Canadian military helicopter had gone down in the water between Italy and Greece on Wednesday. The broadcaster later said one body had been found and five others on board were missing.
HMCS Fredericton left its home port of Halifax with the Cyclone for a six-month deployment to Europe in January. While the navy has since recalled several of its warships due to COVID-19, the Fredericton has continued its mission.
The vessel made a port call in Italy in March and recently visited Souda, Greece. It is currently one of eight warships attached to Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, which are responsible for providing a visible military presence in the Mediterranean.
The crash of a Cyclone helicopter would represent a terrible blow for the military, which only started using them on real missions in late 2018 after more than a decade of developmental challenges, delays and cost overruns.
This report was initially published by the Canadian Press
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