A Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter and Canadian Armed Forces boat search the Ottawa River near Fort William in Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Que., on June 20.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Two Royal Canadian Air Force members that went missing after a helicopter crash in the Ottawa River early Tuesday morning have been found dead.
Defence Minister Anita Anand told reporters Wednesday morning that the bodies were recovered Tuesday evening after a day-long search of the area near Garrison Petawawa, about 160 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.
The two members were among a crew of four from the 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron participating in a regular nighttime training exercise in a CH-147F Chinook, Ms. Anand said. The helicopter crashed just after 12 a.m. Tuesday.
The other two people on board were rescued shortly after the crash by first responders and taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Pembroke, where they were treated for minor injuries, she added. They have since been released and are being monitored by military medical personnel.
The identities of the deceased will not be shared at the request of their families. The military is also not releasing what their positions were on the aircraft.
“This incident is a painful reminder that members of the Canadian Armed Forces undertake great risk to defend Canada, whether in combat or in training, and we owe them our deepest gratitude,” Ms. Anand said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa that people were killed in the crash, but his office did not answer follow-up questions. The Department of National Defence did not confirm Mr. Trudeau’s comments yesterday and said search and recovery efforts were continuing.
Ms. Anand didn’t directly respond to questions about the confusion Mr. Trudeau’s comments had caused, but said information was coming in quickly and evolving rapidly.
The search for the two missing people involved 110 military members, including divers and aircraft, as well as an Ontario Provincial Police marine unit and local fire departments.
The air force’s directorate of flight safety is investigating the crash. No other details have been released on the cause or circumstances surrounding the accident.
Local residents have been asked to remain off the river and away from the shoreline in the area of the military base to allow for containment and clean-up efforts. Physical barriers have been set up around parts of the crash site in an effort to contain fuel from the helicopter and prevent it from spreading, Ms. Anand said.
The fleet of Chinook helicopters is not grounded as a result of the accident, but Ms. Anand said the military unit will pause operations to mourn the deaths of its two members.
Canada’s 15 Chinooks are used to transport equipment and personnel during domestic or deployed military operations.
The United States Army grounded its entire fleet of Chinook helicopters last August, after finding fuel leaks that led to a risk of engine fires. Most of the fleet returned to service weeks later after regular maintenance checks.
At that time, Canada said there had not been any reported engine fires on its Chinooks and the helicopters were not removed from service.
Nearby communities took safety measures in response to the accident. Petawawa has temporarily stopped intake of water from the river to its water treatment plant “out of an abundance of caution,” the town said in a news release Tuesday, in case any hazardous materials are in the river because of the crash. Petawawa also implemented a ban on non-essential outdoor watering of lawns and gardens to conserve water.
Pembroke, about 20 kilometres south of Petawawa, and the Township of Laurentian Valley have both asked residents to restrict water usage as much as possible owing to a “very high demand” on the drinking water system. The city closed all outdoor splash pads until normal operations are restored.
Dustin Cook