AT LEAST eight people on a North Sea helicopter were known to have died yesterday when their aircraft crashed into the sea, 14 miles off the fishing port of Peterhead on the north-east Scottish coast.
But all 14 passengers and two crew on board the Bond Super Puma were feared dead after the helicopter, on a routine trip ferrying oil workers back to the port of Aberdeen, crashed in clear weather just before 2pm.
The accident, which happened only six weeks after 18 oil workers and crew survived a crash in a Bond Super Puma in the North Sea, was seen by the crew of the supply vessel Normand Aurora, three miles away.
The ship launched its rapid rescue vessel, and the British air force scrambled two search and rescue helicopters. A Nimrod was sent to co-ordinate the aerial search and two lifeboats went out from the nearby ports of Fraserburgh and Peterhead.
After the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued an emergency mayday call, 11 ships, including two trawlers, became involved in the search. Witnesses said wreckage was scattered over the sea at the crash site.
The first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, said: “For the families concerned it’s an appalling tragedy and also for everybody who’s worried at this moment about whether their loved ones have been caught up in this tragedy.”
The helicopter, an old version of the Eurocopter Super Puma, was returning to Aberdeen after picking up oil workers and contractors from BP’s Miller oil and gas field when it crashed.
The MCA and police confirmed soon after 5pm that eight bodies had been recovered. The agency said: “Rescue vessels are in the process of recovering a number of fatalities following a helicopter crash earlier this afternoon. Two life rafts were spotted in the water, which were both overturned.
“The search is continuing for the remaining passengers and crew.” The helicopter operator Bond said last night that there were no immediate plans to ground the Super Puma AS332 L2 type involved in yesterday’s crash. The investigation would focus first on recovering the “black box” flight recorders.
Initial theories about the cause of the crash were focusing on mechanical failure.
One official last night described the moment when they feared the worst. "It was a mayday call followed by what you never want to hear: silence." Within minutes the full-scale air-sea rescue was in action. But the first rescuers on the scene reported grim news: bodies were being recovered, and wreckage was spotted strewn across the gently swelling sea. Eight bodies had been found and the expectation grew that none of the 16 men on board had survived. "It's a ghastly prospect," said one official. – ( Guardianservice)