Civilian helicopter in North Sea
 

PA SNAP
Seven people were missing tonight after a civilian helicopter crashed into the sea 25 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth, the Ministry of Defence said.
end

SEVEN MISSING AS HELICOPTER CRASHES INTO SEA
By Sherna Noah, PA News
Seven people were missing tonight after a civilian helicopter crashed into the sea 25 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth, the Ministry of Defence said.
Four of the 11 people on board were rescued after the aircraft went down.
An MoD spokesman said: “Eleven people were on board a civilian helicopter which crashed into the sea 25 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth.
“An RAF Sea King from Wattisham in Suffolk was scrambled at 7.50pm as part of the rescue operation, which is ongoing.”
“Four casualties were rescued and coastguards have got a vessel looking for casualties.”
mfl

Later, a spokeswoman for Great Yarmouth coastguards said five people had been recovered.
The helicopter was bringing workers from a North Sea gas field when it ditched about 30 miles off Cromer, she said.
The helicopter is believed to be owned by the firm Bristow.
The spokeswoman said a rescue helicopter from a military base in Wattisham, Suffolk was in the area along with the Cromer Lifeboat and other vessels.
Rescued casualties had been taken to The Santa Fe Monarch oil rig, the MoD said.
mfl

S76 with 11 on board.

Hope to God they get all 11 back safe and well.

Latest from sky news


7 Missing In North Sea Helicopter Crash





Seven people are missing after a helicopter bound for an oil rig crashed in the North Sea.

The helicopter was carrying 11 people in all, four of whom have already been rescued.


The helicopter crashed at around 8.20pm on Tuesday night around 25 miles off the coast near Great Yarmouth according to the Royal Navy.

"Four people have been taken from the sea and their condition is not known at this time," an air force spokesman told Sky News.

It was not immediately clear whether whether the the downed aircraft was a civillian or military helicopter.

Conditions at sea are reported to be calm.

Sky now saying it was a Super Puma and 5 have now been found.

Aircraft on it's way to Santa Fe Monarch.

Hope they find they all.

Believe its a Bristows 76

BBC & ITV news @ 2200 both giving BHL S76

Thoughts and hopes for all.

Bristows Ditching Incident
 

FROM BBC NEWS


Seven people are missing after a helicopter crashed into North Sea off the Norfolk coast.
The civilian Super Puma helicopter went down 25 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth on Tuesday night, said the Ministry of Defence.

A total of five people have reportedly been found in the sea.

A massive search and rescue operation is continuing for the other people on board.

An MoD spokesman said: "An RAF Sea King from Wattisham in Suffolk was scrambled at 7.50pm as part of the rescue operation, which is ongoing."

He said coastguards have a vessel looking for casualties.

Search vessels

A spokeswoman for Great Yarmouth coastguards said the helicopter was bringing workers from a North Sea gas field when it ditched.

The helicopter is believed to be owned by the firm Bristow.

The spokeswoman said a rescue helicopter from a military base in Wattisham, Suffolk was in the area along with the Cromer Lifeboat and other vessels.

Rescued casualties had been taken to the Santa Fe Monarch oil rig, the MoD said.

A spokesman for the East Anglia Ambulance NHS Trust in Norfolk said they are liaising with the coastguards.

"We have not received any patients yet but have senior officers at strategic points throughout the north of the county.

"We have crews on standby and will await news from the coastguard as to where survivors will be brought."

The spokesman said the James Paget Hospital, in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, was on standby to receive patients.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/...00/2132618.stm


As in all circumstances such as these, my thoughts are with those involved and their families.

BBC and ITV news say a S76 but their websites say Super Puma!?!?!?

To my knowledge, Bristow doesn't have any Super Pumas out of Norwich and the numbers concerned certainly seem to indicate a S76

Unfortunately Sky News is now saying 5 killed and 6 missing.

Thoughts go out to all involved.

Sorry chaps a bit of misinformation in my last post. I've spoken with some one 'close' to the incident and it was definatley a Bristow S76 (VX).

Wouldnt it be an advancement in reporting : if the media restrained themselves and, did not use words like crashed.
The truth is not known: all is speculation and upsettiing; it might have been a controlled event.
How do make them change and put a sympathetic style into news casting?
Because selling news papers is not the main criteria.

http://www.sky.com/skynews/home

Five Dead In Helicopter Crash
Five people are dead and six more are missing after a helicopter bound for a gas field crashed in the North Sea.

The helicopter, owned by Shell Oil, ditched at around 8.20pm on Tuesday night, around 25 miles off the coast near Great Yarmouth, according to the Royal Navy.

Also http://www.itv.com/news/Britain1825700.html

Capt Notarious.....five dead...rest missing.....weather benign....light winds...."controlled" ??? Twin engine helicopter operating within CAT A specs....two very experienced , well trained pilots.....not going to speculate here at all. Lets wait for the information to come out.

Definitely holdin my breath until the crew's names are released.....may have to stop over in the UK enroute to work in the Middle East, to go pay my respects to the families....this is getting to be too common an occurrence.

From the Telegraph:

Eleven British gas rig workers were thought to have been killed last night after a support helicopter crashed into the North Sea.

The Sikorsky S76 helicopter, operated by Bristow Helicopters, ditched 25 miles north east of Great Yarmouth at around 8pm. The helicopter was carrying two crew members and nine workers from the Clipper natural gas platform, operated by Shell.

A coastguard spokesman said: "We have recovered six bodies and are looking for five others. We are not expecting to find survivors."

He added: "There were two crew on board and nine passengers. We received a mayday call and within minutes the fast rescue boats from the rig were on scene. But the impact had been so severe that the occupants we found had suffered appalling injuries and had not survived."

The cause of the crash was not clear last night.

RAF Kinloss, in northern Scotland, which was helping to co-ordinate the rescue, said weather conditions were good.

The coastguard spokesman added: "Normally, if a helicopter manages to make a controlled landing into the water it will float long enough for the passengers and crew to escape and probably survive.

"But it seems that this Bristow helicopter hit the water at a high speed judging by the amount of damage it sustained and the injuries the victims suffered."

The accident comes 10 years after 11 oil workers were killed when a Super Puma helicopter went down in the North Sea. In that accident, in March 1992, the helicopter crashed in gales and driving snow.

My sympathy....
 

My deepest sympathy goes out to all touched by this incident.....

Sad sad news again. Heard that all S76's are grounded, but does that mean worldwide?
Friend of mine is a freelance offshore worker as a diver and sat those S76's before. Safety training is hard and i am wodering what the hell went wrong.
Very anxious to read the rapport about it before all kinds of speculation occurs.

Thoughts go to family's and collegue's.

A very sad day, and a time to remember the very real dangers which North Sea pilots face.
God rest the souls of those who died.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them and with their families.

Heliport
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