Eight bodies have been recovered and another eight people are missing after a helicopter crashed off the north coast of Scotland.
The craft came down around 35 miles off Crimond, near Fraserburgh, on the north east of Scotland.
Aberdeen Coastguard received a mayday call at 1.57pm on Wednesday and a major search and rescue operation was launched.
In a statement Grampian Police said: "We can confirm that eight bodies have been recovered from the North Sea after a helicopter came down around 35 miles off the coast of Crimond. The remaining eight persons are unaccounted for."
Sixteen people had been on board the Bond Super Puma aircraft.
Two RAF helicopters were scrambled to the scene and a Nimrod marine patrol aircraft was diverted to the area. RNLI lifeboats from Peterhead and Fraserburgh were directed to the scene.
The nearest vessel, the Normand Aurora, launched its fast rescue craft to the scene.
A spokesperson for airports operator BAA said: "BAA Aberdeen can confirm they are involved with an ongoing helicopter incident in the North Sea.The craft was on its way back in from the Miller field when it issued a mayday near Peterhead and ditched into the water. At the time there were 16 people on-board, of them 14 were passengers and two were crew.
"A rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth and a Nimrod are on scene co-ordinating the rescue. All other movements - helicopter and fixed wing - in and out of Aberdeen Airport are currently operating as normal."
A BP spokesperson added: "We can confirm that the helicopter was operating on behalf of BP. It was coming on shore from the Miller oil field. We've activated all our emergency response systems and are working closely with the coastguard. We've got no information yet as to what happened to the passengers and the crew of the helicopter."
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch spokesman confirmed an investigation would be carried out. He said: "The AAIB were notified, at 1426 hours, of an accident to a Eurocopter helicopter that occurred off the Aberdeenshire coast.
"Inspectors from the AAIB are being deployed and will be investigating all aspects of the accident. It is not possible to speculate on the cause of the accident at this stage."
In February, a Super Puma operated by the same company ran into trouble off the Etap Production platform in the North Sea.
Sixteen passengers and two crewmembers had to be rescued after the Super Puma helicopter ditched near the installation. All survived and evacuated into two life rafts.
Three of the passengers were winched up into a search and rescue helicopter and the remaining 15 people were picked by a rescue and recovery craft. There were just three minor injuries and all onboard were brought back to Aberdeen in the early hours of the following morning.
A report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that the craft had flown into "a bank of fog" and that its pilot Michael Tweedie had been unable to identify the landing pad of the BP platform.
Anyone concerned for their relatives should call the BP emergency hotline on 01224 836479.
NORTH SEA CRASH:
First Minister: North Sea crash 'an overwhelming tragedy'
Fatal helicopter crash occurred only six weeks after similar incident
