Briton on board Norway crash helicopter

A Briton was one of 13 people on board a helicopter which crashed in Norway, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) has said.

Eleven people were killed and two are yet to be found.

A spokesman for the JRCC did not know whether the Briton was among the confirmed victims.

The helicopter is believed to have been carrying passengers from an offshore oil field when it came down near the city of Bergen.

Eleven Norwegians and one Italian were also in the helicopter - a Eurocopter EC225 - when it crashed on Friday.

Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that 11 of those on board were employed by Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA.

Police spokesman Morten Kronen told the Associated Press that the helicopter was "totally smashed".

Television footage showed smoke billowing from the crash site near the small island of Turoey.

Eyewitness Rebecca Andersen told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter's rotor blades "came rushing toward us", before she heard "a violent explosion".

Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg posted a message on Twitter which described the incident as "horrifying".

A team from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) will travel to Norway on Saturday to assist with the investigation because it has carried out inquiries into several crashes involving helicopters operating to and from offshore oil and gas fields in recent years.