General – Helicopter Accident
It is now confirmed that the person killed in a helicopter accident outside Bergen, Norway on Wednesday night was an Equinor employee.
The accident occurred while the helicopter was on a training assignment for Equinor and was connected to the SAR (search and rescue) service for the Oseberg area in the North Sea.
“This is a deeply tragic incident. Today is a difficult day for many. Our thoughts are with the families, close ones and others affected,” says Anders Opedal, Equinor’s chief executive officer.
“We have now received the difficult message that we have lost an accomplished and dear colleague. It is also important for me to emphasise that everyone on board the helicopter was on assignment for Equinor. Our key task now is to help take care of those involved. We express our heartfelt thanks to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and everyone involved in the rescue operation and the ongoing work.”
Equinor is cooperating closely with the helicopter operator Bristow Norway and relevant authorities in the handling and follow-up of the incident.
The cause of the accident is not yet known. After the accident, Equinor decided to halt all of its regular flights on the Norwegian continental shelf out of consideration for those affected and to get an overview of the situation.
