HMCS Toronto Assists Eruption Victims

Yesterday, HMCS Toronto wasconducting a search and rescue operation, at the request of the Yemen coast guard, to locate nine people believed to be at sea after a volcanic eruption occurred on Sunday on the island of Jazirt Atta-Ir, about 140 kilometers from Yemen in the Red Sea. At the time of the eruption, the NATO fleet was sailing north towards the Suez Canal. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto is currently deployed on Operation SEXTANT, Canada’s maritime contribution to the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) fleet in support of the NATO Response Force (NRF). The Halifax-class patrol frigate departed Halifax on July 20, 2007 for a five-month deployment during which it will conduct operations in the Mediterranean and circumnavigate Africa.