MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) The four Australian military who went missing after a helicopter crash late last week have been declared dead, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said Monday.
The crash occurred on Friday during the joint US-Australia military exercise Talisman Saber, with participation of over 30,000 troops, leaving four soldiers of Australia's Sydney-based 6th Aviation Regiment missing. On Saturday, a spokesperson for the police of Queensland said they had found wreckage of what likely was the missing helicopter.
"Since the accident of the MRH-90 helicopter on Friday night, the activities that have been occurring in the Whitsundays� have now revealed significant wreckage from the helicopter ... there was a catastrophic incident, and with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding Captain Lyon, Lieutenant Nugent, Warrant Officer Laycock, and Corporal Naggs alive has been lost," Marles said at a press conference.
He noted that the families of all four soldiers had been informed about the fact.
The Talisman Saber 2023 drills, scheduled to run from July 21-August 4, were suspended over the incident.
