British chopper crashes at sea

London, May 10 (IANS) A British helicopter Thursday crashed into the North Sea off Scotland but all 16 people on board are safe, an officer said.

Sky News quoted coast guard spokesperson Susan Todd as saying the EC225 Super Puma chopper was forced down around 40 km off Aberdeen, reported. The helicopter supports for North Sea oil and gas rigs.

The officer said an oil pressure warning light came on in the chopper and the pilot began a "controlled descent" around midday.

Two helicopters picked up most of the passengers and two crew members to safety from a liferaft.

However, some passengers were not willing to get back into a helicopter and were rescued by boat. They were taken to a hospital in Aberdeen.

Three search and rescue helicopters went to the scene, along with two lifeboats.

In April 2009, 16 people died after a Super Puma crashed off the coast of Aberdeen. In February the same year, another helicopter had ditched in the North Sea but all 18 people on board survived.