By Xinhua,
Ottawa : One person was kiled and 16 others were missing Thursday when the helicopter in which they were travelling crashed into the North Atlantic off the coast of Canada’s Newfoundland province, officials said.
The aircraft, carrying 18 oil workers, was on its way to Hibernia offshore platform.
One person was rescued, one killed, while 16 others were missing after the accident at around 9.18 a.m., Major Dennis McGuire of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, told reporters.
Two rafts that can be deployed from the helicopter were found near the accident site. There was no sign of survivors, McGuire said. The debris of the aircraft was spread across a six km area. Search for the missing people was continuing, he added.
The chopper was initially spotted floating upside down but later sank, he said.
Julie Leroux, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Safety Board, told reporters: “Mechanical problems were reported and we don’t know of what nature.”
Canada’s coast guards have sent a ship to help in the rescue work.