13 feared dead as helicopter crashes in W. Norway

Eleven dead bodies have been found after a helicopter carrying 13 people crashed Friday off the western coast of Norway, rescue services said.

The Super Puma helicopter with 11 Norwegians, one Briton and one Italian on board crashed near the island of Turoy, en route from "Gullfaks B", an oil platform in the North Sea operated by state-owned oil and gas company Statoil, to Bergen, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center of Southern Norway (JRCC) said.

A rescue operation led and coordinated by JRCC is underway.

Police and JRCC said the search would continue for the other two onboard but there were no signs of survivors.

The crash left the helicopter "totally destroyed," with parts on land and parts in the sea, a JRCC spokesman said earlier.

Witnesses said the helicopter exploded when hitting the ground.

Statoil said it was a CHC-operated helicopter on assignment for the company. Following the incident, Statoil has temporarily grounded all equivalent traffic helicopters.

The four-bladed, twin engine Super Puma utility helicopter was widely used in ferrying personnel and equipment to and from oil platforms in the North Sea oil industry. Enditem

（APD）