Search underway after deadly helicopter crash near Dubai

One pilot remains missing, officials in the UAE have said

One pilot was killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of the UAE, the country’s aviation regulator has said, noting that rescue crews were in the area to search for a second operator after finding debris from the aircraft.

The crash took place late Thursday night in waters near the coastal town of Umm Al Quwain, just north of Dubai, not long after a Bell 212 helicopter took off from the city’s Al Maktoum International Airport, according to the General Aviation Authority.

“The search and rescue teams have recovered the wreckage,” officials said on Friday, adding that rescue workers were scouring the crash site and that “the search is still underway for the other missing pilot.”

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Though the helicopter involved in the crash can carry a complement of 15, the two pilots were the only people on board at the time of the incident – one of whom was an Egyptian national and the other South African. Neither have been identified, with the authorities only saying one pilot was found dead sometime on Friday night.

AeroGulf, the commercial operator that owned the aircraft, said the flight was part of “routine training operations between Al Maktoum International Airport and an offshore rig.”

“We are working with the aviation authorities and doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement. “At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our crew and their families.”