Rescuers pulled one person from the water, while the remaining 17 were still missing in the waters about 30 miles out to sea, officials at a news conference said. [break]
The condition of the survivor, who was flown to a hospital, was not known. It also wasn´t known how cold the water was, though temperatures in St. John´s were just above freezing Thursday morning.
"Mechanical problems were reported, but we don´t know the nature," Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokeswoman Julie Leroux said.
The pilot reported technical malfunctions and said he would try to turn back to St. John´s, said Rick Burt of Cougar Helicopters, the helicopter´s operator.
"This is a very difficult time," Burt said.
Winds are fairly strong in the area, with six- to nine-foot waves, said Jeri Grychowski of the Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax.
The helicopter issued a mayday call just before 8:00 a.m. EST as it was headed to Hibernia oil platforms, said Dave Bowen, also of the rescue coordination center.
The S-92 Sikorsky helicopter went down 55 miles southeast of St. John´s, the provincial capital.
"Two life rafts have been located. However, we don´t have any indication that anyone was in the life rafts," said Major Denis McGuire of the rescue coordination center.
"We´ll continue with the search as best we can," he said.
The emergency room at a St. John´s hospital was being cleared for the possibility of "critically ill or hypothermic people," said Deborah Collins, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Health board.
The Hibernia oil field is located about 200 miles east of St. John´s and is owned jointly by ExxonMobil Canada, Chevron Canada Resources, Petro-Canada, Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation, Murphy Oil and StatoilHydro Canada Ltd.
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Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
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