Memorial after helicopter tragedy

All 16 men on board the Super Puma died

A fund set up after a North Sea helicopter crash killed all 16 men on board is to pay for a permanent memorial in Aberdeen.

The Super Puma crashed into the sea while carrying the men to the city last April.

It was the result of a "catastrophic" gearbox failure, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch later found.

Donations of £330,000 will be split between 11 charities, and there will also be a "symbol of remembrance".

Eight of the victims came from the north east of Scotland, seven from the rest of the UK, and one from Latvia.

The helicopter crashed into the North Sea last April

Malcolm Webb of Oil and Gas UK, and chairman of the Memorial Trust Fund committee, said: "This is a significant achievement.

"As a result of the generosity of the general public along with companies and people throughout the industry, a number of outstanding charities will benefit from significant donations made in memory of the men who so tragically lost their lives in this awful incident.

"The fund is still receiving donations and we will be looking to make a final payment to the same charities when we close the fund, which we anticipate will be towards the middle of this year."

The RNLI will receive more than £180,000 of the £330,000, with the Oil Chaplaincy Trust among the other recipients, getting £20,000.

The 16 men who died were called "heroes" at a memorial service last year.

Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Rothesay, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined hundreds of relatives of the victims at the Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen.

First Minister Alex Salmond also attended the memorial, as did about 100 workers from the Miller platform, from which the helicopter had been returning.