[Ammi]

..it's reported 4 people dead, I thought there was only 3 missing...such a terribly sad thing, their poor families...RIP..


Four people have died after a helicopter went down in the North Sea, police confirmed as they released the names of the victims.

Duncan Munro, 46, from Bishop Auckland; Sarah Darnley, 45, from Elgin; 59-year-old Gary McCrossan, from Inverness and George Allison, 57, from Winchester died following the incident on Friday evening.

The Super Puma L2 aircraft went down at 6.20pm, around two miles west of Sumburgh airport on Shetland as it was returning to the island from the Borgsten Dolphin platform.

The aircraft was carrying 16 workers and two crew members at the time of the incident, in which it was believed to have experienced a "catastrophic" loss of power.

Fourteen people were taken to safety during the immediate rescue response.

Jim Nicholson, RNLI rescue co-ordinator, said: "The helicopter was in a pretty inaccessible place but the lifeboat crew were able to get to them using an inflatable craft. It's fortunate there were not more casualties in a helicopter crash of this kind.

"There appears to have been a catastrophic loss of power which meant the helicopter suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing."

Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, paid tribute to all those involved in the rescue effort.

He said: "Our thoughts at this difficult time are with the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident. We also hope that those who were injured can make a full and speedy recovery.

"I would like to pay a massive tribute to all of those brave and hard-working individuals involved in the rescue effort and in treating the casualties when they were brought ashore."