Crews rescue 3 after chopper tips into Gulf

[Ray]

A helicopter leaving a rig in the Gulf of Mexico flipped into the water when an engine went out Thursday afternoon.
According to a witness, a "chopper in the water" alert went out over a loud speaker on the oil platform just before 5 p.m. He said it was so random everyone was on edge.
The Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) chopper went into the water in an area known as Main Pass, which is just off the coast of Boothville.
A PHI worker who was on the oil platform pulled out his cell phone and recorded the aftermath. Petty Officer First Class Kelsey Thomason with the U.S. Coast Guard reported three men were on board.
"They were getting ready to take off and there was some kind of malfunction and it flipped over on its side," Thomason said.
According to Thomason, the chopper was floating on the water on a pontoon, but the guys could have been seriously hurt.
"It is dangerous. We did have a helicopter up doing a pollution flight, so we quickly diverted it to the rig and quickly recovered it," he explained.
A PHI worker said within 10 minutes a vessel pulled alongside the helicopter to rescue the three men. Thomason added they were taken back to the platform and treated by PHI medics.
The helicopter was tied to the platform to keep it from floating away.