Helicopter crash inquest opened

Clockwise: Richard Darnell, Jamie Mitchell, Rob Dunn, Dave Cole

An inquest has opened into the death of four Royal Navy aircrew who died when their helicopter crashed into the sea.

Their Lynx helicopter had disappeared on a search mission 20 miles off Cornwall on 8 December.

The inquest at Wells Town Hall in Somerset heard how the men were identified from dental records.

The crew were Lt Dave Cole, 34, and Lt Rob Dunn, 29, both from Dorset; Lt Jamie Mitchell, 29, from Dundee; and LAEM Richard Darnell, 31, from Torquay.

They were all based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset.

Friday's hearing was told that a board of inquiry had been set up by the Navy to investigate the crash.

East Somerset Coroner Tony Williams said the bodies could be released to the families and expressed his condolences to them. He said: "This is an extremely difficult time.

"I do hope in due course we will be able to come up with answers for these families as to the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones."

He adjourned the inquest until a date is fixed.