"The situation is looking undeniably bleak and the search for survivors has now been called off," said Commander Mark Sheehan.

Earlier the Ministry of Defense announced that the wreckage of the missing Royal Navy Lynx helicopter was found Thursday on the seabed off the Cornwall coast.

The helicopter, which was based at the Yeovilton naval base in Somerset, southwest England, crashed into the sea off the Lizard peninsula on Wednesday night as it was responding to a report of a man overboard.

"I can confirm the wreckage of the Lynx has been located on the bottom of the seabed following searches off the coast of Cornwall," a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

Three months before, six British soldiers were killed when their Lynx burst into flames after crashing in the Czech Republic while taking part in a joint exercise with Czech troops near Brno.

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