Five Dead After Offshore Helicopter Crashes During Medevac

Five people were killed after their helicopter crashed into the sea during an offshore rescue operation.

The helicopter was sent out to medevac an offshore worker suffering from cardiac arrest on board the Amir Kabir offshore platform shortly before the tragedy unfolded.


The helicopter owned by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), crashed into the Caspian Sea early Sunday off the coast of Behshahr City in the east of Mazandaran province in Iran.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the crash was caused by a technical malfunction. The news agency quoted a Behshahr governor Khalegh Sajadi as saying the helicopter “disappeared half a mile from the oil rig on its way back”.

The Amir Kabir Platform is located 137 air miles off the Iranian Coast and extracts oil from water depths of over 1,000 metres.

It is understood the victims all worked for NIOC subsidiary Khazar Oil Exploration & Production Company.

The patient, a health worker and three helicopter crew members lost their lives in the accident.

Air accidents are not uncommon in Iran, and are believed to be caused by poor maintenance and aging aircraft.

This is the second helicopter crash this year in Mazandaran; first was an emergency helicopter dispatched to an accident on the Haraz Road, crashed into high voltage power cables due to poor visibility caused by thick dust while it was trying to land.