Survivors of 2014 offshore helicopter crash petition Petroleum Commission

Two persons who survived the 2014 helicopter crash off the coast of the Western Region have formally petitioned the Petroleum Commission for compensation due them after waiting for about six years without much success.

The two, Godfred Amankwah and Ebenezer Ampabeng, who were part of the 8th May 2014 helicopter crash reactivated calls for compensation when Citi Business News revisited the Helicopter crash incident after close to six years.

In all, four out of eight petroleum workers died in the helicopter crash during a flight to work on the then Lukoil field off the Western Region coast.

Godfred Amankwah and Ebenezer Ampabeng, both welders, were part of the lucky four who survived the crash.

They were contracted by Tonimo Metal Works to carry out welding for MI Swaco, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, which was at the time doing drilling services for LukOil.

Although the government constituted an investigative committee to look into the crash, the victims said they are yet to receive any compensation.

Following a recent Citi Business News report on the Helicopter crash, the survivors say they received encouragement to fight on hence their decision to petition the Petroleum Commission for help on how to secure compensation.

One of the survivors, Godfred Amankwah, speaking to Citi Business News said they were given a warm reception by the Western Regional Petroleum Commission head, Alfred Ayah.

“It’s been about six years since our Helicopter crashed and without any compensation despite the government’s investigation, life has not been easy for us. We have finally petitioned the Petroleum Commission through the Takoradi office.”

“We hope our petition would get to Accra so that we can get what is due us for our suffering. I must say the Regional boss welcomed us with a lot of respect and assured us to get the petition to the Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission. We appreciate it so much and are hopeful something good would come from it,” he added.