HELICOPTER WITH 18 PERSONS ON BOARD CRASHES INTO THE SCOTTISH SEA!

Four people have died after a helicopter ditched in the sea off the Shetland Islands having reportedly experienced a ‘catastrophic loss of power’.

The aircraft went down at 6.20pm last night, around two miles west of Sumburgh airport, Police Scotland confirmed.

Two bodies were recovered by an RNLI lifeboat crew and one victim died on the way to hospital, while another body was later recovered from the wreckage.

The Super Puma L2 was carrying workers from an oil rig and had a total of 18 people on board as it attempted to return to Shetland from the Borgsten Dolphin platform in the North Sea.

Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond said he is in close contact with those working on the rescue effort.

He added his ‘thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all the crew and passengers who were on the helicopter’.

Alex Salmond is in close contact with the rescue team (Picture: Reuters)

Jim Nicholson, RNLI rescue co-ordinator, said he believed the aircraft dropped into the sea after a ‘catastrophic loss of power’.

‘The bodies came to the surface close to the helicopter wreckage,’ he said.

‘The helicopter was in a pretty inaccessible place but the lifeboat crew were able to get to them using an inflatable craft.

‘It’s fortunate there were not more casualties in a helicopter crash of this kind.

‘There appears to have been a catastrophic loss of power which meant the helicopter suddenly dropped into the sea without any opportunity to make a controlled landing.’

Two bodies were recovered by an RNLI lifeboat crew (Picture: PA)

The search operation, involving the coastguard, police, RAF and RNLI, was extended overnight to hunt for missing people in the darkness.

One of the men rescued, Sam Smith, described how the helicopter suddenly lost power and there was ‘no time to brace’, it has been reported.

His mother Amanda Smith told Sky News: ‘He said (the helicopter) seemed to lose power and there was no time to brace – they just dropped into the sea.

‘He was by the window so he was able to escape that way as it rolled over.’

The incident occurred around two miles west of Sumburgh airport (Picture: Google)

Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite union said the incident was ‘deeply concerning’.

He said: ‘This brings into sharp focus once again the very precarious nature of the transportation of workers to and from offshore platforms.

‘The health and safety of working people is our priority and we will be watching events closely as they happen.’

He added: ‘No-one should ever go to work and not come back safely to their family and friends. This is an absolute tragedy.

‘This is the fifth major incident in the last four years involving Super Puma helicopters in the UK offshore industry and the second resulting in fatalities. It’s unacceptable and it can’t go on.

‘A full investigation must now take place and the industry’s helicopter operators must use every means at their disposal to demonstrate that its fleet is fit for purpose.’

Investigators from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch have been at the scene