Sixteen passengers and crew on board a helicopter were feared dead last night after it came down in the North Sea while returning from an oil rig.

Eight bodies were pulled from the water 35 miles off northeast Scotland. It was feared that the others were trapped inside the sunken helicopter.

It was the second accident involving a helicopter carrying oil workers in six weeks. In February a pilot ditched in front of a platform in thick fog, though all 18 personnel on board were saved.

Yesterday’s tragedy involved an earlier version of the Super Puma that crashed in February, operated by the same company, Bond Offshore. One of the rescue vessels that went to the scene, Caledonian Victory, was also deployed in February.

Poor weather was not thought to have been a factor and a spokesman for Bond Offshore said that there was no evidence of mechanical failure.

The helicopter was returning from the BP-operated Miller oilfield when it crashed at about 2pm. Aberdeen coastguard launched a rescue operation involving RAF helicopters, a Nimrod aircraft and 11 ships and boats.

When rescuers arrived, they found two overturned lifeboats and bodies in the sea. Grampian Police confirmed by 5pm that eight bodies had been recovered from the water after the “hard landing”. The impact was such that rescue crews arrived on the scene, 15 miles off the coast of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, to find parts of the helicopter reduced to debris.

Bond Offshore has the contract to serve BP in the North Sea and one of its other helicopters was first to arrive at the scene. Eleven workers were contract staff and the two crew worked for Bond. It was unclear who employed the remaining three.

The Miller field stopped production in late 2007 and is in the early stages of being decommissioned.

Although the workers were coming from the BP platform, many of those who work for the firm are contractors. KCA Deutag employed ten of those on board. A spokesman told The Times that ten were British — mainly from Scotland — and the other was Eastern European. One was employed by the local oil company PSN, which specialises in decommissioning work.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, said last night: “It looks like we might be might be facing the second worst helicopter support incident in history, in terms of the number of fatalities.

“Eight bodies have been recovered and I am afraid to say the outlook for the other eight people involved is extremely bleak . . . Many families across the land tonight will be grieving for their loved ones.”

Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Oil Liaison Committee, said: “Conditions are pretty good here but you don’t want to be in the North Sea in April even when it is decent weather.”

The Marine and Coastguard Agency said that the weather had been “dry and settled with light breezes” and there was “moderate to good visibility”.

Hugh Fogarty, head of fleet operations at the RNLI, said: “The survival time, with the proper equipment, could be a number of hours. We are certainly not giving up hope yet.”

A coastguard spokesman confirmed that all on board were wearing survival suits. “Unfortunately we have eight confirmed dead and two further sightings. But we have to face the grim reality that for the remaining six it is very negative indeed. We may be looking at all 16 souls lost.”

A hospital that had been ready to accept casualties stood down its emergency unit after receiving news that no survivors were expected.

The crash involved an AS332L Mark II, which Mr Molloy said were “pretty reasonable helicopters” but he later called for BP to ground them. Bill Munro, of Bond Helicopters, insisted that the Super Pumas had an “excellent safety record” and that the firm had “every faith in them”.

Helicopters have been used to ferry workers to and from the oil and gasfields off the Scottish coast since the construction of platforms there in the 1970s.

The worst crash in North Sea was in 1986 when 45 people died after a Chinook crashed into the sea off Shetland. Safety was improved after that crash and all offshore workers in the North Sea now have to complete tough training in a crash simulator. All wear survival immersion suits and are equipped with personal beacons and floatation devices.

The Super Puma is fitted with an airbag similar to that in a car and it is activated on contact with the water.

Gordon Brown said: “This has been a tragic day in the North Sea and my thoughts are with the relatives of those who have lost their lives in this crash. It is at times like these that we remember the risk and the dangers that people have to undergo working to meet our energy needs.”

The Queen sent a private letter of condolence to the victims’ families.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Please help: maimed children of war want their lives back
• Unlocking the cruellest prison
• Charles named in £81m court battle