Scotland: Helicopter Crashes West of Shetland, 4 People Dead

Scotland: Helicopter Crashes West of Shetland, 4 People Dead
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

A helicopter ditched in northern Scotland on August 23 with 18 people on board, and while 14 people survived, three people did not.

UPDATE: On Saturday, officials told CNN the death toll is four. 

The helicopter crashed west of Shetland’s Sumburgh airport in the North Sea, reported BBC, with a mayday first being heard at about 6:45 p.m. 

While 14 people were recovered, three remained lost for some time before rescue crews found their bodies. One person is missing, officials said. Earlier they had said 15 people were recovered safely.

The helicopter was operated by CHC, which transports people to oil and gas platforms in the North Sea. The helicopter is a Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L2, a model that has a good safety record, reported STV.

All 14 people who were rescued were taken to the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.

The people suffered a range of injuries.

“The people that were involved are in varying stages of injury, no one has walked away from this without a scratch,” said a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

There was 16 passengers and two pilots on the helicopter.

Sumburgh Airport was closed for several hours to deal with the situation.

The Hjaltland ferry was sent to the scene of the crash and lifeboats from Lerwick and Aith were launched. Two rescue helicopters were sent from Sumburgh airport.

Shetland is a 567 square mile island northeast of the mainland Britain and west of Norway.

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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