Breaking News
4:15pm UK, Wednesday April 01, 2009
Eight people have been killed and another eight are missing after a helicopter ditched in the sea off the north east Scottish coast, Sky sources say.
Helicopter came down off Scottish coast
The Bond Super Puma aircraft, with 14 passengers and two crew, was returning from an oil platform, just before 2pm, when it went down 35 miles from Aberdeenshire.
Eight bodies have been found and the search continues for eight other people, sources say.
The incident comes about six weeks after another Bond Super Puma with 18 people on board ditched in the North Sea.
Aberdeen Coastguard was co-ordinating the latest search and rescue operation, which included two RAF helicopters and a Nimrod marine patrol aircraft.
Helicopter operator Bond confirmed one of its helicopters was involved in today's crash.
BP said the aircraft was operating on behalf of the oil giant and it was returning to shore from the Miller oil field.
The Coastguard has confirmed the helicopter was a Super Puma AS 33L Mk II which was an earlier model of the one which ditched on February 18.
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Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman said: "A supply vessel called Normand Aurora, which was quite close by, has put their fast response boat into the water and is looking for survivors."
An MCA statement said: "Aberdeen Coastguard have begun broadcasting a mayday signal into the area.
"RNLI lifeboats from Peterhead and Fraserburgh are heading for the scene now."
In the previous incident, the aircraft had gone down as it approached a production platform owned by BP. Everyone survived the accident.
An interim report into the February incident from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the helicopter had run into a bank of fog as it prepared to land.
It added the commander, Michael Tweedie, had been unable to identify the helideck of the BP platform.