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Officials: Fatal Norway helicopter crash due to technical error

A helicopter crash in Norway that killed 13 people, including a British father-of-two was caused by technical error, officials say.

The helicopter was ferrying 11 workers and two crew from a Norwegian oil platform when it came down in the North Sea near the city of Bergen, on Friday.

Iain Stuart, 41, from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, was among the victims.

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Norway helicopter crash: All 13 passengers presumed dead

All 13 passengers on board the helicopter that crashed off the west coast of Norway are presumed dead, local police told a Norwegian daily newspaper.

Emergency services have found 11 bodies but the search for the remaining two passengers is ongoing, a spokesman from the Rescue Coordination Centre for Southern Norway confirmed.

One British and one Italian national were among 13 passengers on board the Eurocopter model that crashed on Friday on its way to shore from Statoil's Gullfaks B platform in the North Sea. The other passengers were Norwegian.

The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority said it has imposed a flying ban on the helicopter type involved the crash.

The authority said in a statement: "There have been challenges with this kind of helicopter model in 2012, when errors in the main gear box were identified. That model received flying restrictions in 2012 and 2013."

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