The search for 16 missing passengers of a helicopter which crashed off the coast of Newfoundland was called off Friday evening, because officials said "the likelihood of finding survivors is no longer there."
The announcement came more than 30 hours after a chopper heading to an oil platform crashed into frigid waters with 18 people on board.
One survivor was rescued from the water on Thursday and is being treated in hospital for his injuries. One death has also been confirmed, but 16 others are now presumed dead.
"It appears there are no survivors," said the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre's Maj. Denis McGuire, adding that rescue crews had repeatedly searched a massive area of open water but found no signs of life.
The search officially ended at 7:30 p.m. local time.
The operation has now been handed over to the Transportation Safety Board, who will probe what caused the crash, and the RCMP, who will conduct a missing persons investigation.
Meanwhile, questions have been raised over the Canadian military's response time, amid reports that provincial helicopters were busy on a training mission at the time of the crash.
Normally, two Cormorant search and rescue choppers are stationed in Gander, N.L., which is about 200 northwest of St. John's.
But on Thursday, as the Cougar 2-92 Sikorsky crash landed into the Atlantic, the two Cormorants were conducting an exercise several hundred kilometres away in Sydney, N.S.
However, officials said the training exercise didn't jeopardize the search and rescue mission and didn't result in delays.
"It would have taken one hour from Gander -- it took hours from Sydney," McGuire told The Canadian Press.
Premier Danny Williams echoed those sentiments.
"The rescue officials are not to blame," he told reporters Friday. "This is not intended to be a springboard for that debate."
Crash details
The helicopter was en route from St. John's to the Hibernia platform when the pilot reported mechanical troubles and turned back towards St. John's.
The chopper issued a distress call, and eight minutes later, went into the water.
"Mechanical problems were reported and we don't know of what nature," said Julie Leroux, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board.
It is believed that the pilot was "ditching" the aircraft, that is, making an attempt to intentionally crash-land the helicopter due to the mechanical problem.
The crew of a Provincial Airlines plane flew over the area within a few minutes of the crash and reported that the helicopter was floating upside down. The helicopter sunk shortly afterwards.
The chopper crashed and sank in 120 metres of water, and left a debris trail of about six kilometres, officials said.
The missing aircraft is operated by Cougar Helicopters in St. John's.
Communities "at a standstill"
As the search wound down Friday, people along Newfoundland's coastal shore were still holding out hope that more survivors would be found.
But a mood of optimism among community members was turning somber as hope faded, said Don Drew, Mayor of the coastal town Bay Bulls.
"The whole area is affected. Within our community here, people are still in shock that this happened," he said.
Drew added that seven of the 16 missing passengers are from Bay Bulls and other surrounding communities.
"There's a lot of feelings going through the community today," he said, adding that people's lives have ground to a "standstill" because of the tragedy.
"We all know of so many people that work in that industry and they fly back and forth," he said.
"Our hearts are going out to the families of all those involved ... we wish it was better."
With files from The Canadian Press
