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A member of Royal Navy personnel has died after a Merlin helicopter plunged into the English Channel, triggering an investigation into what caused the crash.
The Merlin Mk4 helicopter, favoured by Royal Marines for rapid deployment, ditched during a night flying exercise with HMS Queen Elizabeth off the Dorset coast on Wednesday night.
It is understood three crew members were on board the helicopter when it entered the water. Two were rescued and were taken to hospital without suffering serious injuries.
The third person’s body was recovered and the family has been informed.
In a statement, the Royal Navy said: “It is with great sadness that we must report a member of the Royal Navy has died following a training incident last night.
“Our thoughts are with the family – who have been informed – and all those affected at this sad time. A full investigation will take place.
“The incident involved a Merlin Mk4 helicopter in the English Channel near Dorset that ditched while conducting night flying exercises with HMS Queen Elizabeth. There were no other fatalities or serious injuries.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority describes ditching as “a deliberate emergency landing on water”, rather than a crash, in a guidance document from 2022.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” by the death.
In a post on X, he added: “My thoughts are with the family and loved ones during this painful time.”
Sir Keir paid tribute to the ship’s company “particularly those involved in the search-and-rescue operation”.
Defence secretary John Healey described the news of the death as “truly dreadful” and promised “a full investigation” into how the fatal accident happened.
While on a visit to HMS Diamond in Portsmouth, he told reporters: “I use dreadful because this is what everyone connected to the armed forces [dreads], news of personnel in service dying and all my thoughts and the thoughts of those in the wider navy I’ve been with today are with the family, the friends and the close colleagues of the one we’ve lost today.”
David Learmount, an expert on aviation issues, called the Merlin Mk4 a “sophisticated” helicopter which is “pretty resilient”, saying it was “very unusual” for such an incident to happen.
On the investigation into the cause of the incident, he said: “If there was a technical aspect to this they are going to check all the other helicopters that are like this one to make sure it’s not going to happen to them too.
“If they have a reason to do so they will say we’d better ground all the others until we know the reason why it happened.”
The Merlin Mk4 helicopter is used by the Royal Marines and has been deployed globally to provide disaster relief. It is considered the “world’s most advanced amphibious battlefield helicopter” and can carry up to 24 troops, according to the Royal Navy.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is described on the Navy’s website as “the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy”, which is capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft.
The vessel is the Navy’s Fleet Flagship and can carry senior naval staff, receive foreign dignitaries and act as a command and control centre for the Royal Navy.
