AN inquest into the deaths of six men in a helicopter crash at Morecambe Bay has been opened and adjourned.
The bodies of the two crew and four passengers were recovered from the water after the aircraft pitched into the Irish Sea on December 27 as it collected gas rig workers.
Post-mortem results showed the men died of multiple injuries that were consistent with being in a helicopter accident.
The victims were pilots Stephen Potton, 51, from Blackpool, and Simon Foddering, 33, from Preston, and passengers Robert Warburton, 60, of Heysham, Lancashire, Leslie Ahmed, 48, from South Shields, John Shaw, 51, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, and Alfred Neasham, 57, from Co Durham.
In a brief hearing, Blackpool and Fylde Coroner Anne Hind opened and adjourned the inquest.
The search for a seventh man, Keith Smith, 57, from Stockton-on-Tees, has been hampered by high winds and may not resume until at least tomorrow.
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