Families of Shetland crash victims left ‘devastated’

The devastated families of those killed in the Shetland helicopter crash told of their shock last night.

Anne Darnley whose daughter, Sarah, is thought to be the first woman killed in an offshore industry incident said she had long feared for her safety.

The grief-stricken mum admitted she had “natural” concerns about Sarah’s job in the North Sea as she revealed she had endured “a few scary runs” before the crash.

Meanwhile the family of dad-of-one Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland, said his death would leave a large void in a lot of people’s lives.

Sarah, 45, and Duncan, 46, were among 16 oil workers in a Super Puma aircraft which dropped out of the sky as it approached Shetland on Friday.

Gary McCrossan, from Inverness, and George Allison, 57, from Winchester, also died.

The helicopter was returning to the island from the Borgsten Dolphin platform when it suffered a “catastrophic loss of power”.

It was found upside down in the water with the escaped passengers stranded around the fuselage.

Sarah, who worked as a steward for catering firm Sodexo, had been employed in the oil industry for around 20 years.

Mum Anne, 73, said: “She never had any near misses but there were a few scary runs. I had my fears, but they were natural.”

Anne said the family endured an agonising wait for news after hearing of the crash.

She said: “The waiting was terrible. When we first heard about the accident, we tried to get hold of her by phone, text and email. But we could not get through.

“Our worst nightmare came true at 11.30pm on Friday when a policeman came to the door to tell us Sarah had been killed.”

Sarah’s sister Angela, 44, added: “She loved her work and never expressed any fears about travelling in helicopters.

“She put it to the back of her mind. She had complete faith in them. Working offshore enabled her to pursue her love of travelling. She worked in the Falkland Islands, the Congo and Turkey.

“She was about to go on holiday to Spain to visit her friend there, and had been learning Spanish.”

Anne, 73, described her daughter as a “free spirit”.

She said: “We had a close relationship. We often went away on holiday together.

“She liked the best of things, like travelling first class and drinking fine wine. I’m glad she enjoyed life.”

The heartbroken mum said she and Sarah spent their last day together having a meal in a favourite restaurant.

She said: “We went to Lossiemouth. Sarah had a glass of wine and I had a coffee. It’s a fond memory.

“We didn’t speak about anything serious. We just chatted about old times. At least I got a chance to say goodbye.”

Anne and Sarah’s dad Edmund, 83, were being comforted at home last night.

Anne said: “We are doing our best to keep going at the moment. Things will get worse before they get better.”

At Mr Munro’s family home in Coundon, Bishop Auckland, family members said they were too upset to talk about the tragedy.

However they paid tribute to him in a statement released by police.

It said: “Duncan was a fabulous father of Katie, 12, and a devoted husband to Penny. He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him and his death will leave a large void in a lot of people’s lives.”

Mrs Munro is believed to have flown to Shetland last night. Her sister, Beverly Roberts, took to social networking site Twitter to express her sorrow.

She wrote: “He was a lovely man, loved his wife and daughter very much.”

The family of Gary McCrossan, 59, declined to comment but his employer, Stork Technical Services, sent their heartfelt condolences.

Efforts to recover the last of the missing bodies from inside the helicopter took place yesterday.

A specialist towing vessel was also brought in to recover the wreckage while a two-mile exclusion zone was also set up around the scene.

Of the 14 survivors, two were being kept at the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick.

Five of those rescued were discharged on Friday night while a further seven were expected to be discharged yesterday.

As many as 200 personnel were involved in the rescue operation.

Police are now scouring the coastline to collect every scrap of wreckage for accident investigator

Union leaders have called for the entire Super Puma fleet to be grounded until the cause of the Shetland crash is identified.

Friday night’s crash is the fifth major incident involving the Super Puma make of helicopter in the space of four years and union chiefs claim this is “unacceptable”.

Helicopter operator CHC yesterday grounded all of its Super Puma L2 aircraft in the wake of the crash.

But unions want all models of Super Puma grounded until the cause of the accident is found.

The main North Sea unions have said they would support any worker who refused to board a helicopter if they felt the aircraft was unsafe.

Bob Crow, general secretary of offshore union RMT, said he expected an “outpouring of anger” in response to the latest incident.

“Workforce confidence in the Super Puma type aircraft was severely dented after the two ditching events of last year and the fatal accident in 2009,” he said.

“RMT and Unite have worked with all sectors of the industry to address the concerns of our members and rebuild that confidence. This event has undone all of that work and we anticipate an outpouring of anger.”

He went on: “The entire Super Puma fleet must remain grounded until the causes of this latest event are established and dealt with thoroughly to the unions’ satisfaction and we will support any member who refuses to board any suspect aircraft type in light of this disaster.

Super Puma EC 225s – a different model to the one which crashed on Friday – had been grounded for several months after last October’s ditching, but were given the go-ahead to resume flying earlier this month.

Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite union, said the number of incidents involving Super Puma helicopters in the offshore industry in recent years was “unacceptable”.

He said: “No-one should ever go to work and not come back safely to their family and friends. ’This is the fifth major incident in the last four years involving Super Puma helicopters in the UK offshore industry and the second resulting in fatalities. It’s unacceptable and it can’t go on.”

Politicians yesterday said their thoughts were with the family and friends of those who lost their lives and were injured.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: “There have been too many reminders in recent years of the dangers involved in our offshore oil and gas industry. The bravery and dedication of those in the industry is never taken for granted and we owe them a debt of gratitude.

“We must find out what caused this tragic accident and an investigation is now underway.”

A petition to the Scottish parliament to stop using Super Puma helicopters in the North Sea was started yesterday.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Our thoughts at this difficult time are with the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.

“It is still too early to know what caused this terrible tragedy, but a full investigation by the relevant authorities is already under way. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with all the agencies who have been involved in this rescue and recovery operation through our Resilience process.”