DUBAI: A helicopter, which was on its way to an offshore oil rig in the United Arab Emirates, crashed Wednesday night, killing seven people.
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said the crash happened at 8:23 p.m. Those killed included two crewmembers and five passengers. The victims were identified as a Briton, an American, a Filipino, a Venezuelan, a Pakistani and two Indians. A civil aviation official said the department had set up a special team to investigate the cause of the crash.
The Bell 212 helicopter was on a routine flight from the Rashid oilfield, 70 km from Dubai, said a statement issued by Petrofac, the company that operates offshore oilfields in the region. “The helicopter crashed into the deck of the Maersk jack-up drilling rig during take-off. Then it broke up and fell into the sea,” it added.
Immediately following the crash, a fire broke out on the main deck of the drilling rig. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished. There were no casualties on the drilling rig or platform, company sources confirmed.
