that crashed on Norway's western coast on
Friday
are presumed dead, the police have
said.
Police Duty Officer of the Bergen Vest police
district, Terje Magnussen , confirmed that 11
bodies have been retrieved so far.
The Joint Rescue Coordination for southern
Norway said that it had given up its search for
the remaining two bodies.
Earlier, Anders Andersen , spokesman for the
Coordination team, said that the search was still
underway for the two missing people.
The spokesman had said that 11 on board the
helicopter were Norwegian nationals, one British
and one Italian, but that their individual
identities were unclear.
The joint rescue coordination centre had
coordinated a large search and rescue
operation, partly at sea and on land.
"The rotor blade has been found, while parts of
the helicopter have been located six, seven metres
under the water line," Andersen said.
Local broadcaster, NRK, earlier showed images
of smoke billowing from the crash site near
Turoy, about 40 kilometres from the city of
Bergen. The fire was later extinguished.
READ: Helicopter crashes off Norwegian
coast »
The helicopter was heading for Bergen from the
Gullfaks B oil platform, which is operated by
Norwegian energy company, Statoil.
A Statoil spokesman said that the company had
mobilized its emergency response team, and
had set up an emergency hotline.
Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg , said on
Twitter that she was being briefed about the
accident.
A witness, Jon Sekkingstad, told NRK that he
heard a loud bang, and saw the main rotor blade
fly off from the helicopter, and an explosion
when it hit the ground.
Helicopters and boats have been deployed to
the scene. Part of the wreckage was located on
a small island, and also in the sea.
The Norwegian defence forces deployed three
vessels and four divers.
The airspace around the crash site has also
been closed for non-authorized aircraft,
including drones, local police said.
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