A Canadian Forces Military police officer watches the water on Black Bear Beach near Garrison Petawawa in Petawawa, Ont. on June 20, 2023.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Search-and-rescue crews were combing the Ottawa River near a Canadian Armed Forces base on Tuesday after a military helicopter crashed during a training flight just after midnight.
Two Royal Canadian Air Force crew members were rescued and two others remained missing, the Department of National Defence said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon that people were killed in the crash and that he spoke with the Chief of the Defence Staff to offer his condolences to their families and colleagues.
But the Department of National Defence wouldn’t confirm the deaths and said in a statement that search and recovery efforts were still ongoing.
The CH-147F Chinook helicopter crashed into the river during a training flight near Garrison Petawawa – a base about 160 kilometres northwest of Ottawa – the military said in a news release Tuesday morning.
Canada’s fleet of Chinook helicopters are used to transport equipment and personnel during domestic or deployed military operations.
Four people from the 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron were on the helicopter at the time of the accident. Two members were found by first responders and taken to hospital in the nearby city of Pembroke, Ont., the news release said. No details have been released on their identities or the extent of the injuries.
Mr. Trudeau told reporters that there will be an investigation into the accident, but right now the government is focused on providing supports to the affected families.
“The fact is there will be a thorough investigation, there will be answers to give but right now we’re focusing on notification of families and support,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not answer follow-up questions about Mr. Trudeau’s comments that people were killed in the crash.
About 50 air-force personnel were involved in the search both on the shore and the water. They were joined by an Ontario Provincial Police marine unit, Petawawa, Ont., and Pembroke fire departments, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
Nearby communities took precautions in response to the crash. The Town of Petawawa 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. It said this was a precautionary measure in case there were any potentially hazardous materials in the river because of the crash. Petawawa implemented a ban on non-essential outdoor watering of lawns and gardens to conserve water.
The City of Pembroke, about 20 kilometres south of Petawawa, and the Township of Laurentian Valley 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.
Boaters on the river were asked to avoid the area near the shores of Garrison Petawawa to avoid potentially hazardous materials from the helicopter.
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 following regular maintenance checks.
At that time, Canada said there had not been any reported engine fires on its 15 Chinooks and the helicopters were not removed from service.