Offshore tribute to crash victims

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A memorial service is to be held on the North Sea platform where the victims of the Super Puma crash disaster worked.

The ceremony on the Miller platform is being held the day after a service in Aberdeen was attended by Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Fourteen offshore workers died along with two crew in the tragedy off the Aberdeenshire coast on 1 April.

Reverend Andrew Jolly, chaplain to the North Sea oil and gas industry, is to fly out to the Miller platform.

The 16 men who died in the North Sea helicopter crash were called "heroes" at the memorial service at the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen on Wednesday afternoon.

Unable to attend

Hundreds of relatives of the victims watched as a candle was lit in memory of each of the men as their names were read aloud.

Mr Jolly said he was flying out to BP's Miller platform on Thursday to conduct a further memorial for those who could not attend the Aberdeen service.

Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia.

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.

Candles were lit for each of the men who died

An initial report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found the helicopter had suffered a "catastrophic" failure in its main rotor gearbox.

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 Helicopter Accident Issues Task Group which was formed after the crash.

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.