Australian Army helicopter crashes off Queensland coast, 4 crew members missing

Four air crew members were missing after an Australian army helicopter ditched into waters off the Queensland state coast during joint military exercises with the United States officials said Saturday AP reportedThe MRH90 Taipan helicopter went down near Hamilton Island a Great Barrier Reef tourist resort at about 1030 pm Friday Defence Minister Richard Marles saidA search was underway to find the crew and their families had been notified officials saidA rescue helicopter reported spotting debris Saturday morning near Dent Island in the Whitsunday Islands group The Taipan was taking part in Talisman Sabre a biennial joint USAustralian military exercise that is largely based in Queensland This years exercise involves 13 nations and more than 30000 military personnelMarles said the helicopter ditched which refers to an emergency landing on water He said it was taking part in a mission that involved a second helicopter which immediately started a search and rescue operationDefence exercises which are so necessary for the readiness of our defense force are serious They carry risk Marles told reporters in Brisbane As we desperately hope for better news during the course of this day we are reminded about the gravity of the act which comes with wearing our nations uniformDefence Force Chief Gen Angus Campbell said Queensland state authorities members of the public and US military personnel were taking part in the search Our focus at the moment is finding our people and supporting their families and the rest of our team Campbell said This is indeed a terrible momentIt is the second emergency involving an Australian Taipan this year after one ditched into the sea off the New South Wales state coast in March That helicopter was taking part in a nighttime counterterrorism training exercise when it ran into trouble All 10 passengers and crew members were rescuedUS Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Brisbane for a meeting on Saturday and is due to travel with Marles to north Queensland on Sunday to see the exerciseThe exercise has been paused by the search Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid tribute to the missing air crew at the outset of a meeting with their Australian counterparts Marles and Foreign Minister Penny WongIts always tough when you have accidents in training but the reason that we train to such high standards is so that we can be successful and we can protect lives when we are called to answer any kind of crisis Austin saidOur guys tend to make this look easy and they make it look easy because theyre so well exercised and rehearsed and trained and this is unfortunately a part of that what it takes to get them to where we need them to be Austin addedBlinken said Were so grateful to them for their dedication for their service for everything theyve been doing to stand up for the freedom that we share and that is what unites us more than anything else Marles thanked the United States for their contribution to the search and rescue effortThe missing helicopter had just dropped off two Australian commandos before it hit the water Australian Broadcasting Corp reported Australia announced in January its army and navy would stop flying the Europeanbuilt Taipans by December 2024 13 years earlier than originally planned because they had proven unreliableThey will be replaced by 40 US Black Hawks Marles said at the time the Lockheed Martindesigned Black Hawks have a really good proven track record in terms of their reliability Australias Taipans had been plagued by problems since the first helicopter arrived in the country in 2007Australias entire fleet of 47 Taipans was grounded in 2019 to fix a problem with their tail rotor blades A year later 27 Taipans were grounded because of a problem with doors The Defence Department did not immediately reply Saturday when asked whether Taipans would again be groundedAP