The search effort for survivors following an RCAF helicopter crash in the Mediterranean on Wednesday is now being considered a recovery mission, according to the Department of National Defence.
The Armed Forces said today that more remains have been found, but have not yet been identified.
Captain Kevin Hagen, a pilot originally from Nanaimo, is one of crew members who was aboard the helicopter at the time of the crash.
The missing five members from the crash who are now officially presumed deceased are as follows:
- 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 Warfare Officer, originally from Truro, Nova Scotia
- Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator, originally from Guelph, Ontario
On Thursday it was confirmed that one member, 23-year-old Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, a Marine Systems Engineering Officer from Nova Scotia had been found deceased.
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.
According to the Defence department, NATO Allies will be continuing recovery efforts at the scene of the crash as HMCS Fredricton is scheduled to depart for port in Italy.
With files from Brishti Basu.
