At least one person was killed and 16 were missing in choppy, frigid waters off Canada's Atlantic coast today after a helicopter crashed while ferrying workers to two offshore oil projects.
One of the passengers was rescued after the crash and taken to hospital, said Rick Burt, general manager of Cougar Helicopters, which operated the Sikorsky S-92 transport.
An official said another person had been found dead. Two life rafts also had been pulled from the water, but nobody was in them, rescuers said.
The helicopter sank in the North Atlantic about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of the Newfoundland and Labrador capital of St. John's, leaving behind a debris field.
It was carrying 16 passengers and two crew and was heading for the Sea Rose production vessel at Husky Energy's White Rose oil field and the Hibernia oil platform when it sent out a distress call at 9.18am local time (11.48am Irish time).
Hibernia is 315 km (196 miles) southeast of St. John's, and Sea Rose is another 35 km (22 miles) away.
"The pilot did report that he was having some technical malfunction and was turning back to St. John's," Burt told a press conference.
He had no information on the survivor's condition.
Reuters