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| Helicopter crash dead remembered | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The 16 men who died in the North Sea helicopter crash disaster have been honoured at a memorial service. | |
| Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined hundreds of relatives of the victims at the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen. | |
| A candle was lit in memory of each of the men who died as their names were read aloud. | |
| The men died when their Super Puma crashed off the Aberdeenshire coast two weeks ago to the day. | |
| Camilla, Duchess of Rothesay, and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond were also in attendance at the memorial, as were about 100 workers from the Miller platform, where the helicopter was returning from. | |
| A screen was erected on Union Street to relay the service outside. | A screen was erected on Union Street to relay the service outside. |
| The service was conducted by the Rev Andrew Jolly, chaplain to the North Sea oil and gas industry. | |
| He said: "This occasion must be for us all today a time of great sadness and sorrow. | |
| "Those of us here and those who join us outside and offshore and around the world cannot begin to imagine the pain and sorrow the relatives of those who perished on April 1, 2009 must be feeling at this time. | "Those of us here and those who join us outside and offshore and around the world cannot begin to imagine the pain and sorrow the relatives of those who perished on April 1, 2009 must be feeling at this time. |
| Alex Salmond, Gordon Brown, Camilla and Prince Charles attended | |
| "But as we gather here today, representatives of the oil and gas industry, the Miller installation, the wider community of Aberdeen and the nation as a whole, we want all of you to know that your loss is our loss, that your sorrow is our sorrow too and as we share that with you we want you to know that you can look to us in the days, months and years ahead for comfort, for love but most of all for support." | "But as we gather here today, representatives of the oil and gas industry, the Miller installation, the wider community of Aberdeen and the nation as a whole, we want all of you to know that your loss is our loss, that your sorrow is our sorrow too and as we share that with you we want you to know that you can look to us in the days, months and years ahead for comfort, for love but most of all for support." |
| Mr Jolly said he would fly out to the Miller platform on Thursday to conduct a further memorial for those who could not attend. | Mr Jolly said he would fly out to the Miller platform on Thursday to conduct a further memorial for those who could not attend. |
| Wednesday's service also honoured a 17th man who died in an unrelated offshore accident on the same day as the Bond Super Puma accident. David Stephenson, 44, of Willow Bridge, Northumberland, was a crewman on the Well Servicer, operated by Technip. | |
| The memorial, which started at 1400 BST, was broadcast live on BBC Two Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland Medium Wave and on the BBC news website. | |
| The Super Puma helicopter had been returning from BP's Miller oil platform when it crashed about 11 miles north east of Peterhead on 1 April. | The Super Puma helicopter had been returning from BP's Miller oil platform when it crashed about 11 miles north east of Peterhead on 1 April. |
| All 14 passengers and two crew members on board were killed. | All 14 passengers and two crew members on board were killed. |
| Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia. | Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia. |
| Early discussions have taken place on a possible permanent memorial for the victims of the Super Puma crash. | Early discussions have taken place on a possible permanent memorial for the victims of the Super Puma crash. |
| The matter will be discussed by the newly-formed Helicopter Accident Issues Task Group. | The matter will be discussed by the newly-formed Helicopter Accident Issues Task Group. |
| On Tuesday, Grampian Police said the bodies of 13 of the victims were being returned to their families. They said the other three would be released as soon as possible. | On Tuesday, Grampian Police said the bodies of 13 of the victims were being returned to their families. They said the other three would be released as soon as possible. |
| The wreckage was recovered from the seabed. It included the black box flight recorder, the fuselage with the engines and rotor gearbox attached, the separated rotor head with the main rotor blades still attached, and the separated tail. | The wreckage was recovered from the seabed. It included the black box flight recorder, the fuselage with the engines and rotor gearbox attached, the separated rotor head with the main rotor blades still attached, and the separated tail. |
| An initial report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found the helicopter had suffered a "catastrophic" failure in its main rotor gearbox. | An initial report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found the helicopter had suffered a "catastrophic" failure in its main rotor gearbox. |