North Sea helicopter crash: 1 dead, 5 injured
February 29, 2024
A helicopter crash in the North Sea, off the coast of Norway, has claimed the life of one person and left five others injured, police said Thursday.
What we know
The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, operated by charter company Bristow Norway AS, was on a search and rescue training assignment for state-owned oil and gas firm Equinor ASA when it came down late on Wednesday in the sea near Bergen.
Police said six crew members were all winched from the sea by a rescue team. However, one of the members was later declared dead in hospital.
The Bristow Group had earlier said that all crew had been recovered safely, but then later updated information with news that one of the injured had died.
Energy group Equinor said the helicopter was a search and rescue aircraft that normally served platforms at the Oseberg oil and gas field in the North Sea.
The cause of the incident is not yet known and the helicopter's operator said it was fully cooperating with authorities.
"We have sent crash inspectors to Stavanger and Bergen to investigate the accident," Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority head William Bertheussen told the Reuters news agency.
Regular flights halted
The company said it had decided to suspend regular flights out of consideration for those affected and to get an overview of the situation.
"We have confidence both in the type of helicopter and in the operators," Equinor chief executive officer Anders Opedal told public broadcaster NRK.
"The company aims to get the helicopters back to normal operation quickly and is now making the necessary preparations to achieve this safely," the company said in a statement.
"This is a deeply tragic incident. Today is a difficult day for many, and our thoughts are with the families, close ones and others affected,” Opedal said in a statement.
kb/wd (Reuters, AP)