British pilot among seven killed in Dubai helicopter crash

The helicopter's co-pilot and six passengers were also killed when it plunged into the sea while attempting to take off on Wednesday.

The crash caused the Rashid oilfield to be shut down, the operator of Dubai's offshore oilfields confirmed.

The helicopter was on its way to oilfields in the Persian Gulf, seen here in a satellite photo

The Bell 212 helicopter had been about to depart on a routine in-field flight when it plummeted on to the deck of the drilling rig, broke into pieces and plunged into the sea.

Following the crash a fire broke out on the rig's deck, but was quickly extinguished.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates launched an investigation into the crash which took place at 5.23pm British time yesterday.

The GCAA said the helicopter's two crew members and five passengers were all killed.

In a statement the GCAA said: "The B212 helicopter carrying seven persons crashed in (the) Gulf sea on September 3 at 20.23 local time, 50 nautical miles west of Dubai Airport.

"All passengers and crew were killed in this tragedy, including one American, one British, two Indians, one Pakistani, one Filipino and one Venezuelan.

"The helicopter was flying from Dubai International Airport to one of (the) oilfields in the Gulf Sea.

"An investigation is currently being conducted to determine the causes of the accident."

A spokeswoman for the GCAA said the helicopter was owned by a company called Aero Gulf.

She added that it was not known how long the investigation would take but a press conference would be held to announce the results.

The Foreign Office said: "We are urgently looking into the reports."

Petrofac, an international oil and gas facilities service provider and service operator of offshore assets for the Dubai Petroleum Establishment, said the helicopter hit a rig before going into the sea.

"During take-off the helicopter crashed on to the deck of the Resilient, the Maersk jack-up drilling rig," Petrofac said in a statement today.

"The aircraft then broke up and fell into the sea."

"Immediately following the incident, a fire broke out on the main deck of the drilling rig which was quickly contained and extinguished.

"Emergency response vessels and aircraft were mobilised and incident management control measures were immediately initiated in co-operation with the Dubai Police and Coastguard."

No one on the rig or platform was hurt in the incident, the firm said.

It added: "All operations on the Rashid field have been suspended and the platform and drilling rig have been secured.

"The relatives of the deceased, who are contractor personnel and are confirmed as non UAE nationals, are currently being informed. No Petrofac personnel are among the deceased."