Petrofac Helicopter Crash Kills 7 at Rashid Field Off Dubai

By Ayesha Daya

Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Petrofac Ltd., a U.K. company with projects in the Middle East and North Sea, said a helicopter crash at the Rashid oil field off Dubai killed seven contractors yesterday.

The Aerogulf Bell 212 helicopter used by Petrofac, which provides oilfield services for the offshore assets of Dubai Petroleum Establishment, crashed during take-off onto the deck of the drilling rig at 8:20 p.m. local time yesterday and there were no survivors, Petrofac said today in a statement distributed on Regulatory News Service.

All field operations have been suspended and the platform and drilling rig have been secured, the statement said.

One American, one Briton, two Indians, one Pakistani, one Filipino and one Venezuelan were killed, according to an e- mailed statement from the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ayesha Daya in Dubai adaya1@bloomberg.net