‘No chance of survivors’ after Australian army helicopter crashed off coast

Sailors from HMAS Brisbane prepare to board a rigid-Hulled inflatable boat to conduct search and rescue operations in the vicinity of Lindeman Island, Australia, after the helicopter crash (LSEW Hannah Linsley/ADF via AP/PA)

The Australian army helicopter that crashed on Friday during a multinational exercise hit the water with a “catastrophic impact” and there is no chance its four crew members survived, officials have said.

Australia’s fleet of more than 40 of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, made by French Airbus, has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again.