Captain Kevin Hagen, originally from Nanaimo, is one of the five people still missing after a NATO naval task force helicopter crashed in waters between Greece and Italy Wednesday night.
In a statement on Thursday, the Department of National Defence identified the five people who remain missing in a crash that killed one crew member.
They are:
- Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, Pilot, originally from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
- Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot, originally from Nanaimo, British Columbia
- Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer, originally from Trois-Rivières, Québec
- Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Weapons Officer, originally from Truro, Nova Scotia
- Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator, originally from Guelph, Ontario
The crew member who died in the crash was identified by her family as 23-year-old Abbigail Cowbrough, a Marine Systems Engineering Officer from Nova Scotia.
See also: One dead, five missing after Canadian military helicopter crashes in Mediterranean
The helicopter was based on HMCS Fredericton which had recently sailed from Souda, Greece, as part of a mission of maritime situational awareness in the Mediterranean.
This included exercises with the Turkish Navy and Greece’s Hellenic Navy and Air Force this past week.
“I was deeply saddened to learn yesterday of the tragic incident involving a Cyclone helicopter off the coast of Greece and the loss of our members of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence, in a statement.
“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing with our NATO Allies for the five missing members and all available resources are being dedicated to this effort. This accident is a painful reminder of the dangers that members of Canada’s military face every day to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.”
According to the DND, the HMCS Fredericton and NATO allies continue to search for the missing five members of the helicopter’s crew.
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s Cyclone helicopters generally carry a crew of four, including two pilots, a tactical operator and a sensor operator with space for several passengers.
With files from Seanna Wainman.
