Ten Australian Defence Force soldiers swum for their lives after the helicopter they were on ditched into water near Jervis Bay during a night-time counter-terrorism training exercise.
Army MRH-90 Taipan multi-role helicopter ditched into the water just after 9pm on Wednesday.
There was an explosion and fire on board seconds before it ditched, an eyewitness has claimed.
Michael Underbock was on Greenpatch Beach fishing with mates when he witnessed the helicopter hovering very close to the water.
"This chopper was just hovering above the water, about 20 or 30 metres above the water, and the engine started dying off a little bit. Then it picked back up again, rose a bit," he told Sunrise.
"There were all sorts of sparks on top of the chopper and then a big flash, a big bang and then a bit of a fire on top of the chopper then it ditched down.
"It was kind of all happening very, very low to the water and it was all over within a moment."
Two people have minor injuries. One had a "head bump", while another ingested seawater, Inaugural Commander of Aviation Command, Major General Stephen Jobson said on Thursday morning:
"Aviators of the six Aviation Regiment and personnel of the second commando Regiment were undertaking a routine counter-terrorism training exercise.
"The helicopter was crewed by four aviation personnel with six passengers on board."
In a statement, Defence told the South Coast Register an incident occurred on Wednesday evening.
"Defence can confirm a helicopter incident occurred near Jervis Bay, NSW, on the evening of 22 March 2023," the statement read.
"All Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel on board have been safely recovered from the water.
"At this time Defence's priority is supporting the ADF members involved in the incident and their families."
Paramedics were called to College Road in Jervis Bay Village about 9am, to assess the nine patients for minor injuries.
However, the paramedics were ultimately not required.
Defence has issued an operational pause the MRH 90 Taipan fleet and a safety investigation has commenced.
The MRH-90 Taipan multi-role helicopters have previously been plagued with safety concerns about "major risks and issues" affecting its reliability and capability, a parliamentary report found in 2020.
In 2021, the Navy's 808 Squadron MRH-90 Taipan helicopters were temporarily grounded due to IT maintenance issues.
Mr Jobson said there were two processes occurring as a result of the crash.
"Defence flight safety bureau are undertaking an investigation. Secondly, there is an assessment occurring as to how the aircraft will be recovered subsequent to the investigation being completed," he said.
"I would really want to focus today on the incident that has occurred and the fact that we are undertaking a safety investigation.
"It is important that we ensure that we refrain from speculations."
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart quick responses from ADF personnel and emergency services and well-drilled teams prevented a potential tragedy.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident to determine the cause and ensure the platform remains safe to operate," he said.
As a precaution, Defence has temporarily paused the training activity and will ground the MRH-90 Taipan fleet while the cause of the incident is investigated.
The incident site is being contained by Australian Federal Police and port services personnel.
- with AAP
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