SIX bodies were tonight recovered after a helicopter crashed 25 miles off Morecambe Bay. One person remains missing.

Energy company Centrica - which operates in the Morecambe Bay gas fields - confirmed that contact was lost with the Eurocopter AS365N at about 6.35pm.

In a statement it said the helicopter, operated by CHC Helicopter Corporation, a contract company had two crew members and five of its employees onboard.

The incident happened about 25 miles off the Lancashire coast in the East Irish Sea.

A major search operation was launched involving two RAF helicopters and two RNLI lifeboats and several support vessels.

Lancashire police confirmed that five bodies had been recovered from the sea and brought ashore.