Two Indians were among seven people killed when a helicopter taking them to an oil drilling platform crashed off the coast of Dubai, officials said on Thursday.
The Bell helicopter, which was carrying all seven foreign oil contractors including the crew, crashed at the Rashid oil field -- approximately 70 km offshore Dubai -- around 8.20 pm local time (10.30 pm IST) last night, said Petrofac, the service operator for Dubai Petroleum Establishment.
The helicopter, which was engaged in a routine infield flight, crashed on the deck of the platform during take-off and broke into pieces in a ball of fire.
The fire was put out by workers on the rig. Following the incident, all operations on the offshore Rashid oil field were suspended.
Besides the two Indians, the helicopter was carrying an American, a Briton, a Pakistani, a Filipino and a Venezuelan, none of whom survived, the civil aviation authority was quoted as saying by the local media.
The UAE authorities have instituted an investigation into the crash which will be conducted by the Dubai police and the General Civil Aviation Authority.
