Eleven people were confirmed dead Friday after a helicopter ferrying North Sea oil platform workers crashed off the coast of western Norway, emergency services and police said Friday. 
Spokesman for the Joint Rescue Coordination for southern Norway, said the search was still underway for two missing people. 
Initial reports said there were 11 passengers and two crew members onboard.
The spokesman said 11 onboard the helicopter were Norwegian nationals, one was British and one was Italian, but the identities of the deceased were unclear. 
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for southern Norway has coordinated a large search and rescue operation, partly at sea and on land, dpa reported. 
"The rotor blade has been found, while parts of the helicopter have been located six, seven metres under the water line," he told reporters. 
Duty officer Morten Kronen with the Bergen police earlier told the Bergens Tidende daily that bodies had been found on land. 
Bang Andersen told reporters that a distress signal was registered at 1201 (1001 GMT), triggering the search and rescue operation. 
The helicopter was heading for Bergen from the Gullfaks B oil platform, which is operated by Norwegian energy company Statoil. 
The airspace around the crash site has also been closed for non-authorized aircraft, including drones, local police said.

Source: QNA