UK: Poor weather hits helicopter crash probe

Morecambe Bay (England), Dec 29: Severe gales will hamper an investigation into the Morecambe Bay helicopter crash, the coastguard said today.

The bodies of six men killed in the accident have been recovered from the sea, but rescue teams have called off the search for a missing seventh man.

''The search and rescue part of the incident has been completed,'' a Liverpool coastguard spokesman said. ''It is now for air accident investigators and police to decide on recovery.

''The forecast is for severe gales. It's certainly not very conducive for any recovery activity at the moment.'' The Met Office said storms will bring heavy rain and winds gusting at up to 80 mph over the next two days.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said yesterday that the search for the seventh man ended after 22 hours because it was unlikely anyone would be alive after so long in the sea.

The search had involved two RAF helicopters, three RNLI lifeboats and three rig platform stand-by vessels with their associated fast response vessels.

The aircraft, with two crew and five passengers, was picking up gas rig workers when it crashed 24 miles from the coast.

Four of the passengers were named as Centrica employees: Les Ahmed, 48; Alf Neasham, 57; Jakie Shaw, 51, and Bob Warburton, 60. The missing passenger is Keith Smith, a contractor working for support services firm Costain Petrofac Limited.

The pilots were named as Steve Potton and Simon Foddering.

Utility firm Centrica Plc, which produces gas from the Morecambe Bay gas fields, called the crash a ''tragic accident''.

The helicopter's operator, Canadian company CHC Helicopter Corporation, said it was helping with the investigation.

The helicopter, a twin-engine Eurocopter AS365N, had taken off from Blackpool airport to pick up gas rig workers to bring them back to shore.

It stopped to pick up passengers at two rigs and was 500 metres short of a third platform when it ditched in the sea.

REUTERS