A helicopter crashed in the Baltic Sea Wednesday just off the coast of Estonia. The commercial helicopter was carrying two pilots and 12 passengers at the time of the crash.
Officials later located the wreckage and sent an unmanned underwater robot to the scene. Pictures sent back by the robot indicated there were human remains inside the downed helicopter. Officials held out little hope of finding any survivors.
Estonian maritime rescue workers indicated the wreckage was approximately 158 feet below the surface.
'I'm afraid we haven't found any survivors,' Aivar Muriks, a spokesman for the Estonian rescue workers said. 'It's not possible to survive at this depth, in my opinion.'
The helicopter was scheduled to fly from the Estonian capital of Tallinn to Helsinki, Finland. It went down shortly after takeoff approximately three miles off the coast according to local officials.
Finnish Interior Minister Kari Rajamaki issued a statement saying, 'On behalf of the Interior Ministry, I would like to express my condolences to the families of those killed in the accident.'
The cause of the crash was not immediately determined and authorities said they will conduct a full investigation. It is known that there were storms reported in the area that canceled ferries running between Tallinn and Helsinki. Winds up to 45 miles per hour were reported.
