Six killed in Azerbaijan helicopter crash

BAKU, Oct 13 (Reuters) All six passengers and crew were killed in Azerbaijan when their helicopter crashed soon after taking off from an offshore oil platform, the state airline said in a statement today.

The helicopter, with four crew and two passengers on board, crashed into the Caspian Sea as it evacuated a sick worker from a platform operated by Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR yesterday.

''At 2228 ist last evening a Mi-8T helicopter was involved in an accident. Six people were killed. A search operation is underway,'' the Azal airline said in a statement.

Azerbaijan produces about 850,000 barrels of oil a day (bpd).

SOCAR accounts for about 150,000 bpd, while the rest comes from a BP-led consortium. The helicopter had been chartered by SOCAR.

REUTERS SKB KP1141