Search suspended for 4 missing from helicopter crash off coast of US Louisiana

The US Coast Guard on Thursday night suspended the search and rescue mission for four people on board a helicopter which crashed off the coast of the southern US state of Louisiana, officials said.

The crew searched approximately 180 square miles (466 square kilometres) for eight hours. Pieces of the helicopter have been located, but there remains no sign of the missing, including the pilot and other three oil workers.

The ill-fated aircraft crashed just after leaving an oil platform about 16 km from Southwest Pass, a shipping channel at the mouth of the Mississippi River, Coast Guard Petty Officer Jose Hernandez said.

Witnesses saw the helicopter hit the helicopter pad and then tumbled into the water, the WLOX television channel reported.

The search and rescue will be resumed on Friday at first daylight, local media reported.