Amec employees die in North Sea helicopter crash

Three Amec employees and two Amec subcontractors are among the 11 people now presumed to have lost their lives in the North Sea helicopter tragedy earlier this week.

Amec confirmed the five as Stuart Coggon, an Amec senior mechanical/piping designer; Phil Stone, an Amec senior mechanical/piping engineer; Kevin Taylor, an Amec instrument technician; Paul Francis, an ICS specialist site technician, and Angus MacArthur, a HICAD dimensional control surveyor.

Peter Mason, Amec chief executive, said: "It is difficult to find words to convey the very great sadness we feel on the loss of colleagues in such a tragic accident. The memory will always live with us.

"I would like to offer my heart-felt condolences to the bereaved families and the relatives, friends and colleagues of all the deceased. I would also like to extend my personal thanks to all those who have helped in the aftermath of this tragedy, particularly the emergency services, our own people and the many other organisations involved."

Neil Bruce, managing director of Amec's Upstream Oil & Gas business echoed Mason's words and added: "Over the last two days and nights a huge effort has been made to provide as much support as possible for the families and we will continue to provide help in the difficult times ahead."

He continued: "These have been difficult times for all of us and we appreciate the messages of condolence that we have been receiving from around the world - it means a lot to know that so many people are thinking of the families at this time.

"As a mark of respect we will be setting up a fund to help the families and Amec people, and others if they choose to, will be able to make donations. We will be publishing details of this fund as soon as they are available."

The company added: "Safety is always considered first and foremost in every activity offshore and we will seek to participate fully in a thorough investigation to understand the cause of this tragic accident."