Horrifying video shows the rotor blades that fell off a Norwegian helicopter flying through the air on their own after the fireball crash that killed 13 people including a British man

Helicopter carrying 13 people crashed on an island in western Norway

Police have recovered 11 bodies, with two people still missing

A British national, an Italian national and 11 Norwegians were on board

Eyewitnesses describe ‘violent explosion’ before the devastating crash

Video has emerged of the helicopter’s rotor blades hurtling through the air

More shocking video footage has emerged following a devastating helicopter crash in Norway which claimed at least 11 lives, including one British man.

In the footage shot by a bystander, the rotor blades – which have detached from the helicopter – can be seen hurtling through the air and into the path of horrified eyewitnesses.

A plume of thick black smoke, which emerged from the crash scene, can then be seen billowing into the air.

The helicopter was carrying 11 passengers and two pilots from an offshore oil platform in the North Sea when it came down on the small island of Turoey, near Bergen.

At least 11 people have been found dead at the crash site, with two still unaccounted for, a spokesman for Norway’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) said.

The British man, an Italian national and 11 Norwegians were on board the Eurocopter EC-225 helicopter when it crashed on its way back from the Gullfaks B oil platform, operated by Statoil, in the North Sea.

Eyewitness Rebecca Andersen told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the helicopter’s ‘rotor blades came rushing toward us.’

‘Then we heard a violent explosion,’ Andersen said.

An Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: ‘We have offered our support to the family of a British national who has sadly died in a helicopter crash in Bergen, Norway.

‘Our thoughts are with all those affected. We will remain in contact with local authorities.’

‘The helicopter is completely destroyed,’ a spokesman forthe Rescue Coordination Centre for Southern Norway said. ‘Rescueservices are doing all they can to find people alive.’

‘We have not yet found any survivors. We are still looking,’the local police official coordinating operations, MortenKronen said.

Mr Kronen said that there were ‘reports of an explosion and thick smoke’ and that there were people in the sea.

Norwegian media posted photos of huge billows of smoke.

Kronen said the helicopter was on its way from an oil field in the North Sea to Bergen, some 74 miles away on the Norwegian mainland.

Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA said in a brief statement it had ‘mobilized its emergency response team’ but declined to immediately comment further.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg wrote on Twitter about the ‘horrifying reports’ and said she was being kept informed about the rescue work.

The UK and Norwegian civil aviation authorities have now grounded all Eurocopter EC-225 helicopters – the model involved in the crash – pending investigations.