The helicopter and its crew had been taking part in a large-scale military exercise with military personnel from Australia, the United States and several other countries when it crashed near the Whitsunday Islands on Friday.
Over the weekend, militaries from several of the countries took part in the search for the four crew members, but to no avail. The operation is still ongoing, but according to Richard Marles, there is no longer any hope that any of them survived.
— The operation continues. We will get our comrades home to their families and their regiments, says Marles to a press conference.