Puma Ditches in the North Sea

Danbo!

Sounds like a repeat of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristow_Flight_56C

Hopefully the rescue effort will see the same results

From Sky News..

A Puma helicopter with 18 people aboard has ditched into the North Sea 120 miles off the coast of Aberdeen.

Super Pumas are used to ferry oil workers between the shore and rigs

A full scale rescue operation using four more helicopters is underway after the Super Puma aircraft went down in the sea whilst approaching a platform.

Flares have been fired from the scene and lifejacket lights have also been spotted in the water.

The helicopters are used to transport oil workers to and from rigs and offshore factories.

RAF aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss are at the scene along with two helicopters from the oil company.

It is understood that several earlier helicopter flights in the area had been cancelled due to the rough weather.

Low-lying cloud is hampering the rescue operation and waves are up to 3 metres high.

The alarm was raised just before 7pm.

RAF Squadron Leader Dave Webster described the incident as very rare.

The Super Puma is one type of chopper used for oil and gas personnel in the North Sea and has 18 passenger seats and two pilot seats. It is believed there were 16 passengers and two pilots on board the stricken aircraft.

The passengers will have had survival suits to protect them from the cold water and a flotation device will be installed on the Puma.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/A-Helicopter-With-18-People-On-Board-Has-Ditched-Into-The-North-Sea/Article/200902315225518?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15225518_A_Helicopter_With_18_People_On_Board_Has_Ditched_Into_The_North_Sea

Steyr

All been rescued in the past few minutes.:)

Danbo!

/Thread

Fratton Fred

That's good news. I know from first hand experience how obsessed with safety BP are so the passengers will all have been well trained and in the right gear. looks like it all paid off.

Fratton Fred

From the Head of BP North Sea

As you may have seen and heard in the media, a Bond helicopter en route to the ETAP Platform ditched close to the platform at around 18:30 last night.

There were 16 passengers and 2 crew onboard and I am relieved to say that everyone was rescued and are safe. My thoughts are with the individuals and their families involved at this time.

Our Jigsaw search and rescue system was activated and the first helicopter was on scene within 45 minutes, with the Autonomous Rescue and Recovery Crafts arriving minutes later. All personnel were confirmed safe within 2 hours.

Once the individuals were recovered, 3 were transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by Coastguard helicopter to receive precautionary medical check ups. A further 15 were transferred to Aberdeen on the Caledonian Victory Regional Support Vessel. No serious injuries have been reported.

Obviously it is too early to say what caused the incident but a rigorous investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of this incident.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the professionalism of those involved in the response and express my thanks to all the BP and partner teams, the Coastguard and RAF Kinloss, who worked together to ensure a very successful rescue operation.