Mexico's Pemex reports fallen helicopter, rescue efforts ongoing

Mexican state oil company Pemex reported on Wednesday a fallen helicopter off of Mexico's southern Gulf coast, according to an internal Pemex memo seen by Reuters, home to many of its biggest offshore projects. A pilot and co-pilot appeared to be on board, the memo said, after the craft went down near the major oil port of Ciudad del Carmen in southeast Campeche state.

Mexican state oil company Pemex reported on Wednesday a fallen helicopter off of Mexico's southern Gulf coast, according to an internal Pemex memo seen by Reuters, home to many of its biggest offshore projects.

A pilot and co-pilot appeared to be on board, the memo said, after the craft went down near the major oil port of Ciudad del Carmen in southeast Campeche state. A Campeche security official said the helicopter belongs to Mexican transportation company Heliservicio.

In a statement released later on Wednesday, Heliservicio said that an aircraft it operated "landed in the water" at around 6:30 a.m. local time 10 nautical miles from the port with an unspecified number of crew, but no passengers. The statement added the company was assisting in rescue efforts, as well as looking into the cause of the incident, along with the maker of the craft.

Pemex did not immediately responded to a request for comment. Two Pemex officials told Reuters the aircraft was not transporting Pemex personnel, and that the two pilots were not Pemex employees.

The internal Pemex memo said the company's marine control center asked two ships to offer support in the area where the helicopter went down. The Campeche Bay is one of Mexico's most productive oil and gas areas, dotted with numerous drilling rigs and platforms belonging to Pemex as well as many of its service providers.