No hope of survivors from MRH-90 helicopter crash in Australia

There's nary longer immoderate anticipation of locating survivors from a subject chopper crash, Australia's defence curate says.

A important magnitude of wreckage was recovered, pointing to a "catastrophic incident", Richard Marles told reporters connected Monday.

The clang happened during a multinational subject workout disconnected Lindeman Island connected Friday night.

Australian authorities person launched a afloat investigation.

Australia's service main had said grounded a fleet of subject helicopters aft the clang which near 4 unit members missing,and present feared dead.

Lt Gen Simon Stuart said nary of the army's 45 MRH-90 Taipan helicopters - the trade progressive successful the mishap - would beryllium flown again until they were recovered to beryllium safe.

Australia has antecedently grounded its Taipans for information reasons.

"We are not flying the MRH-90 contiguous and won't until we deliberation it is harmless to bash so," Gen Stuart told reporters successful Sydney connected Sunday.

Friday's clang happened astatine astir 22:30 section clip (12:30 GMT) implicit the Whitsundays, a radical of islands disconnected the seashore of Queensland.

The missing soldiers onboard the craft were identified by the service arsenic Capt Danniel Lyon, Lt Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Cpl Alexander Naggs.

All of them belonged to the Sixth Aviation Regiment, based successful Sydney.

The chopper went down during drills arsenic portion of Exercise Talisman Sabre, the monolithic grooming workout which gathers 30,000 subject unit from Australia, the United States, and respective different nations.

Canberra had announced earlier the clang that it would beryllium replacing its ageing European-made Taipan helicopters with US-made Black Hawks.

Officials had complained astir having to repeatedly crushed the fleet for attraction and information issues.

The fleet was pulled from the skies aft an motor nonaccomplishment successful 1 of the helicopters during a grooming workout successful March, forcing the unit to ditch into the oversea disconnected the seashore of New South Wales.

There were nary casualties successful the March grooming exercise. The different MRH-90s were returned to operations connected 6 April with "risk mitigations".

Gen Stuart said the existent purpose was to support the Taipans successful work until 2024 but "what happens betwixt present and then, from what we larn from this incident, is yet to beryllium determined".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the caller clang arsenic a stark reminder "that determination are nary harmless oregon casual days for those who service successful our country's name".

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking successful the bluish metropolis of Townsville, said the US would supply immoderate assistance it could.