Thursday, 10 May 2012

Bond Super Puma helicopter ditches in North Sea off Aberdeen

Passengers and crew from a helicopter which ditched in the North Sea have been taken to hospital.

The incident - about 30 miles east of Aberdeen - involved a Bond EC 225 Super Puma helicopter.

It is understood all 14 people on board made it into a liferaft.

Nine were picked up and were flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, arriving at about 13:45. The remaining five were brought to Aberdeen by lifeboat.

ARI accident and emergency consultant James Ferguson said: "I am delighted to say none of them are seriously injured."

He said they were treated for "minor bumps and bruises".

One was kept in for observation as a precaution.

The incident, which happened at about 12:15, has been described as a controlled ditching.

The helicopter was heading from Aberdeen to the Maersk Resilient and Ensco 102 drilling rigs - in the Jasmine field, operated by ConocoPhillips - when an alert was broadcast.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of British Airline Pilots Association, praised the crew, saying it looked like a "terrific piece of airmanship from very skilled pilots".

'Future safety'
Helicopter flights out of Aberdeen were suspended after the incident.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Thankfully it has been confirmed that all on board have been rescued.

"Incidents such as these remain very rare but do serve as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those offshore workers who are required to use helicopters on a regular basis.

"Once all of those involved have been transferred ashore the priority will be for the appropriate authorities to investigate the causes of this accident and ensure the future safety of flying operations in the North Sea."

The incident response was co-ordinated by Aberdeen Coastguard.

- BBC

No comments:

Post a Comment