AN oil-rig helicopter has crashed on an island off the coast of western Norway, killing 11 people and leaving two others missing, a rescue official said.
The Airbus EC-225 helicopter was carrying 11 Norwegians, one Brit and one Italian from the Gullfaks B oilfield in the North Sea to Bergen, 120 kilometres away on the Norwegian mainland when it crashed shortly after midday Friday local time, said Jon Sjursoe, a spokesman for Norway’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK said 11 of those on board were employed by the Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA. The company didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
A search and rescue vessel patrols off the island of Turoey, near Bergen in Norway, as emergency workers attend the scene of a helicopter crash. Picture: Rune Nielsen/NTB scanpix via APSource:AP
Police spokesman Morten Kronen said the helicopter “totally smashed” as it hit the tiny island of Turoey, near Bergen, and the 11 victims were found on land.
The helicopter’s fuselage was found in the water off the island while its rotor system was on land, Sjursoe said. He earlier described it by its previous name, Eurocopter.
“It is a very small island and (helicopter) parts are spread partly on land, partly in the sea,” Sjursoe said.
Norwegian media posted photos of huge billows of smoke.
Witness Rebecca Andersen told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter’s “rotor blades came rushing toward us.”
“Then we heard a violent explosion,” Andersen was quoted as saying.
ADS-B data show that the crashed Eurocopter dropped 2100 feet during the last 10 secondshttps://t.co/a8Oiff3AqD http://pic.twitter.com/DhaCbOstfu
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 29, 2016
The Eurocopter EC225 that crashed near Bergen was flying from "Gullfaks B" oil platformhttps://t.co/a8Oiff3AqD http://pic.twitter.com/DFVaF0cjOH
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 29, 2016
Air traffic monitoring site Flightradar24 reported the helicopter plunged 2100 feet (640 metres) in the last 10 seconds.
A local resident told newspaper 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.”
Statoil said it had mobilised its emergency response team and had “temporarily grounded all equivalent traffic helicopters.”
Briton among at least 11 killed after helicopter crash near Norwegian city of Bergen, UK Foreign Office confirms https://t.co/edBAGa7d5o
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) April 29, 2016
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