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Helicopter carrying 13 crashes off Norwegian coast Briton among 13 people in helicopter that crashed off Norway
(about 1 hour later)
Norwegian authorities say they have not yet found any survivors after a helicopter carrying 11 oil workers and two crew members crashed off the west coast near Bergen. A Briton was among 13 people on board a helicopter that crashed off the west coast of Norway near Bergen on Friday.
The helicopter came down near the island of Turøy while en route to the mainland from Statoil’s Gullfaks B oil platform in the North Sea. Eleven bodies have been found and two people are missing after the crash near the island of Turøy. The helicopter was carrying oil workers to the mainland from Statoil’s Gullfaks B oil platform in the North Sea when it came down.
Norway’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said it was still searching for two of those on board. A spokesman for the JRCC did not know whether the Briton was among the confirmed victims.
Live television footage showed leisure boats rushing towards the crash scene, from where thick black smoke was billowing into the sky.Live television footage showed leisure boats rushing towards the crash scene, from where thick black smoke was billowing into the sky.
Morten Kronen, a spokesman for the region’s police force, said there were reports of an explosion and thick smoke. The helicopter “has crashed, it is totally smashed”, he said. Authorities were searching a wide area of the sea for survivors. Several witnesses described seeing the aircraft spiral downwards, followed by a powerful explosion.
Rebecca Andersen, a witness, told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter’s “rotor blades came rushing toward us. Then we heard a violent explosion.” Rebecca Andersen told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter’s “rotor blades came rushing toward us. Then we heard a violent explosion.”
A local resident told the local paper Bergensavisen: “There was an explosion and a very peculiar engine sound, so I looked out the window. I saw the helicopter falling quickly into the sea. Then I saw a big explosion.”
“Pieces [of the helicopter] flew into the air,” she said, adding that she saw a rotor blade detach.
The area just west of Bergen, Norway’s second largest city, sees frequent helicopter traffic to and from offshore oil installations.The area just west of Bergen, Norway’s second largest city, sees frequent helicopter traffic to and from offshore oil installations.
Statoil said it had temporarily grounded all helicopters of the type that crashed, an Airbus H225 Super Puma. The Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, wrote on Twitter about the “horrifying reports” and said she was being kept informed about the rescue work. Statoil said it had temporarily grounded all helicopters of the type that crashed, an Airbus H225 Super Puma.
In August 2013, all UK Super Pumas were grounded by CHC, the company that operated them, after one of the aircraft plunged into the North Sea off the Shetland, killing four.
The previous year, the 225 model Super Pumas were grounded after two crashes, one off Aberdeen and another off Shetland. They had been given the go-ahead to resume flying just before the fatal crash in August.