A helicopter carrying six people has crash landed in the ocean off the coast of western Norway, the country’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centres said.  They were hoisted from the sea by rescue workers, but one was later declared dead in hospital, police said, with the other five suffering injuries. 

Energy group Equinor said the helicopter operated by Bristow Norway was a search and rescue aircraft normally serving platforms at the company’s Oseberg oil and gas field in the North Sea.The helicopter was a Sikorsky S-92 model and was on a search and rescue training mission at the time of the accident, a police spokesperson said, adding it was too early to say what had caused the crash.

Air traffic data showed several rescue helicopters circling in the air near an island west of Bergen, Norway’s second biggest city and a busy hub for the Norwegian offshore oil and gas industry.

“We are aware of the incident and stand ready to support the investigative authorities and our customers. Safety is our top priority,” said a spokesperson for Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The area had been experiencing high winds at the time of the accident, a rescue service official said.

Lockheed Martin company Sikorsky, which manufactured the helicopter, said that safety was its top priority and that it stood ready to support the investigation.

In 2016, an Airbus Super Puma helicopter returning from the North Sea crashed in roughly the same area, killing all 13 people aboard.

The accident led to the suspension of the use of that type of helicopter by the Norwegian oil and gas industry.