Helikopterhavariet i går - Vraket av H225 er lokalisert - Helikopteret er av samme type som Turøy maskinen - Curt Lewis

Crashed SKorean chopper found, 7 missing


Search and rescue operations continue following the crash of a South Korean ambulance helicopter.

Divers from South Korean rescue services have located an Airbus chopper which fell into the sea with seven people on board off the disputed islets of Dokdo.

A body was found close to the wreckage, Yonhap news agency reported. The Coast Guard was unable to confirm the report.

The Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter, operated by South Korea's fire department, was found in 70 meters of water on Friday afternoon, a coast guard official told a media briefing earlier.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said he had ordered safety checks for other H225 in service in the country.

The helicopter was carrying an injured person to hospital when it crashed about two minutes after take-off from Dokdo close to midnight, a fire department official said.

The Dokdo islets, which South Korea and Japan claim as their territory, are called Takeshima in Japan.

Rescue officials were trying to secure the black box and voice recorder to find out what went wrong.

An Airbus subcontractor carried out maintenance for the model's main gear system between September and October, followed by test flying, and there were no safety issues found, an official said.

"We are aware that a H225 operated by the South Korean National 119 Rescue Headquarters, has been involved in an accident," Airbus said in a statement, referring to the fire department.

"We stand ready to provide full technical assistance to the customer and authorities as required."

The stricken helicopter went into service in 2016. On board were two pilots, one maintenance official, two rescue officials, the injured patient and person accompanying them.

The pilots were veterans with about 23 and 17 years of experience respectively, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.

The H225 model, previously known as a Eurocopter EC-225, is a heavy twin-engined helicopter used in search and rescue or military operations worldwide.

An accident off Norway that killed 13 North Sea oil workers in 2016 had also involved a H225.

But it has suffered commercially since oilfield demand fell and the Norway crash prompted many North Sea workers to boycott the helicopter. It competes with the Sikorsky S-92.

The accident in Norway led to a temporary grounding of most of the global fleet and prompted Airbus SE to make design changes to gearboxes.