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CFB TRENTON - The bodies of two RCMP officers killed when the earthquake struck Haiti last week are expected to be back on Canadian soil Friday afternoon.
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Marc LaPorte confirmed Wednesday that the bodies of Sgt. Mark Gallagher and Supt. Doug Coates will be repatriated at CFB Trenton at approximately 3 p.m..
"Due to congestion at Port-au-Prince airport, we hope the aircraft will take off on time and land in Trenton at 3 p.m.," said Laporte. "We will confirm the time of arrival Thursday afternoon."
LaPorte said the caskets will be accompanied by RCMP and Canadian Forces staff.
Annie Morin, Public Affairs officer at CFB Trenton, said Gallagher and Coates will be brought to CFB Trenton in the same fashion fallen soldiers are.
"There will be police on hand and the two [RCMP] officers will be transported to Toronto along the Highway of Heroes," said Morin.
In a statement released by the RCMP Wednesday night, Commissioner William J.S. Elliott said Gallagher and Coates will be honoured by police and military personnel in Port-au-Prince on Friday, before their remains are placed aboard a Canadian Forces aircraft bound for CFB Trenton.
"As our thoughts remain with Mark [Gallagher] and Doug's [Coates] loved ones during this painful time, I would like to thank the Canadian Forces for their assistance in repatriating our fallen comrades from Haiti where they were stationed as part of Canada's contribution to the UN Stabilization Mission there," said Elliot.