Five people are dead after their helicopter crashed into the sea during an offshore rescue operation.
The helicopter was sent out to collect a person suffering cardiac arrest from the Amir Kabir offshore platform shortly before the tragedy unfolded.
The helicopter, which belonged to the National Iranian Oil Company, went down in the Caspian Sea early Sunday. It crashed off the coast of Behshahr city in the east of Mazandaran province in central-northern Iran.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the crash was caused by a technical malfunction. The news agency quoted a Behshahr governor Khalegh Sajadi as saying the helicopter “disappeared half a mile from the oil rig on its way back”.
Amir Kabir drilling rig is 137 air miles (250 kilometres) off the Caspian Sea coastal line and extracts oil from the water depth of 1,000 metres, according to official IRNA news agency.
It is understood the victims worked for NIOC subsidiary Khazar Oil Exploration & Production Company.
The patient, a health worker and three crewmembers lost their lives in the accident.
Earlier this year, a North Sea helicopter killed all 13 people on board.
The helicopter crashed on April 29th on its return journey from Statoil’s Gullfaks B platform.
One British man, an Italian national and 11 Norwegians were on board the helicopter flight. Read more here.
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