Search continues in wake of Airmedic helicopter crash
Posted June 23, 2025 12:02 pm.
Last Updated June 23, 2025 4:12 pm.
The search resumed for a third day in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region on Monday, in an attempt to locate the four people missing since the crash of an Airmedic helicopter north of Natashquan.
The Airmedic helicopter crashed into Lake Watshishou during a transport operation on Friday evening, at around 10:30 p.m.
One crew member managed to pull himself from the helicopter and was found, but the other four people on board are still missing, as is the helicopter.
As was the case on Sunday, the search is concentrated in the Watshishou Lake area. Divers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) are being mobilized to conduct the search.
Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft had also carried out a “thorough visual search” around the helicopter’s last known position, but this proved unsuccessful, Len Hickey, Senior Public Affairs Officer at the Canadian Armed Forces Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, said on Monday.
“At 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 22, all RCAF aircraft ended their search and returned to base,” he said by e-mail.
This event has prompted Airmedic to temporarily suspend its operations, “in order to prioritize the well-being of its teams and offer them all the necessary support”.
In a statement issued on Sunday morning, the company emphasized that “this tragedy has deeply shaken the entire Airmedic family”.
An independent investigation, led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the SQ, has already been launched to shed light on the causes of the crash. Airmedic has said it is cooperating “fully” with this investigation.
According to preliminary information gathered by the TSB, “the helicopter was performing a medical evacuation and crashed into a lake shortly after take-off”.
The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) is also involved.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
