[arista]

Three people are missing after a helicopter carrying 18 passengers crashed into the sea just as it was coming into land on the Shetland Isles.


http://news.sky.com/story/1132538/he...a-off-shetland


I hope they find the 3

[Ammi]

...how awful, I really hope they can rescue the other 3 people...

[Lee.]

God almighty! I have quite a few friends whose hubbys work offshore, every time I hear about a chopper going down, I feel a bit of dread in my tummy

Hope the 3 are found alive!

[Z]

A few of my friends are offshore, the weather up here is AWFUL tonight, cannot believe they sent a helicopter out in that... they managed to rescue 15 but 3 still missing

[Ammi]

..two of the bodies have been recovered, it's not looking great for the third one...just so, so tragic...

[arista]

Latest confirms 4 Dead, sadly.

[Lee.]

How many of these helicopters have gone down now? Is this not the 4th or something?

[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."

[arista]

Originally Posted by Lee.

How many of these helicopters have gone down now? Is this not the 4th or something?

Yes they are saying that model (super puma) should be Banned


From ITV News just now

[Lee.]

Found out today that all the victims work on the same rig as my friend's husband

[Nedusa]

Don't understand why they keep using Helicopters that keep crashing....!!!!