A CFB Esquimalt sailor travelling home to Canada on a leave to visit his family has died in Tanzania amid mysterious circumstances.
The crewman died Monday in a Tanzanian hospital. “The circumstances surrounding this death are unknown at this time,” the Royal Canadian Navy said in a statement.
He was serving on HMCS Regina, which is on a mission in the Indian Ocean.
Canadian Forces Military Police will work with Tanzanian authorities in Dar es Salaam to investigate the death, the navy statement said.
The crewman’s name, rank and age have not been released but his family has been notified of his death. Some in the navy community said he is a husband and father of young children.
The sailor was en route to Canada for a scheduled leave from HMCS Regina, which is participating in Operation Artemis, an eight-month international counterterrorism and maritime-security mission in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
He was taking a routine leave offered to sailors so they can visit their families during long deployments, said Canadian Forces spokesman Capt. Steve Dieter.
Dieter could not say how many other sailors were also on leave or when they were set to fly out from Dar es Salaam.
HMCS Regina, a Halifax-class frigate carrying 260 crew members, set sail on Jan. 6 from CFB Esquimalt to search for and intercept illicit drugs and offer security for humanitarian and trade ships in a region that is notoriously dangerous.
Earlier this month, HMCS Regina announced it had seized 132 kilograms of heroin from a vessel off the coast of Africa.
“It is with the utmost sadness that I learned of the death of a sailor and I extend my sincerest sympathies to his family, friends and shipmates in HMCS Regina,” said Rear-Admiral John Newton, commander of the Maritime Component Command, in a statement.
“I want to reassure those closest to him that the Canadian Armed Forces family is there to provide loved ones with all the support we can muster in this time of great sorrow and need.”
Cmdr. Daniel Charlebois, commanding officer of HMCS Regina, said: “I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of our crewman. He was well liked and respected by his peers, and his presence will be dearly missed by all the ship’s company of HMCS Regina.”
Military police are also investigating the sudden death of another CFB Esquimalt sailor this year. Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Gilles Duquette was found dead in his military residence in Esquimalt on Jan. 28.
Duquette was a 29-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy. The B.C. Coroners Service has not released the cause of death.
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