OTTAWA — The search continues Thursday for a Canadian military helicopter that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. The Cyclone was deployed on board the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton.

Greece's Prime Minister has expressed his condolences as the search continues for a Canadian military helicopter that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during a NATO exercise.

"I express my grief over the crash of the Canadian helicopter in the Ionian Sea last night,'' Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Thursday, speaking in parliament.     Mitsotakis said he would contact Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express his condolences.

Greek state broadcaster ERT was first to report that a Canadian military helicopter had gone down in the water between Italy and Greece on Wednesday.

deployment to Europe in January. While the navy has since recalled several of its warships due to COVID-19, the Fredericton has continued its mission.

The vessel made a port call in Italy in March and was scheduled to visit Greece as well as the Black Sea. It is currently one of eight warships attached to NATO's Standing Maritime Group 2, which are responsible for providing a visible military presence in the Mediterranean.

to actually get those helicopters on the ships," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

"If one did crash, they would obviously need to do an investigation to figure out why because there's any number of different things that could potentially have happened, some of which may have had to do with why the helicopter took a long time to be introduced."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2020.

—With files from The Associated Press

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press