TERREBONNE, La. -- Eight people are dead after a helicopter crashed Sunday into a marshy area in the lower southwest portion of Terrebonne Parish, according to Coast Guard officer Jaclyn Young.

There were nine people on board a PHI, Inc. helicopter at the time of the crash, which happened around 3:30 p.m. near Bayou Penchant. One of them was transported to a nearby hospital, while the Coast Guard put on a search for the ninth person. That person was found dead later, raising the death toll in the accident to eight.

PHI Inc. identified those killed in the crash as Allen Boudreaux, of Ama, La.; Andrew Moricio and Ezequiel Cantu of Morgan City, La.; Randy Tarpley of Jonesville, La.; Charles W. Nelson of Pensacola, Fla.; Thomas E. Ballenger of Eufaula, Ala.; and Vyarl W. Martin of Hurst, Texas.

There was conflicting information on the name of the eighth victim, a Bridge City man. PHI said the injured man was Steven Yeltin of Floresville, Texas.

"There is no way to describe the pain of this terrible, terrible tragedy," said Mike Moreno, CEO of the Moreno Group, who, along with Dynamic Industries, employed five of the victims. "This is devastating news for the entire Dynamic community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members of these dedicated employees.”

Richard Ravinelli, Director of Human Resources for PHI, said the chopper had just taken off from the PHI operating base in Amelia and was heading to an offshore oil platform at the time of the crash. Barbara Bryant's said her son was among those killed in the accident.

"He has worked since he was young," Bryant said. "He just spent 3 months offshore, just because he wanted to save up enough money for a down payment on his own house, and he's been living with me to save his money to do that."

Bryant says her son has worked on oil rigs for more than three years, but could never get used to boarding helicopters -- the most common way crews get out to the rigs.

"I'm thinking about him being in those marshes out there," Bryant said. "He didn't want to fly anyway. He just took the water survival course for this company for shell the week before Christmas, and said how terrified he was he did that, so that's on my mind.. or that he's out there.

"He didn't make it."

The medevacted passenger, who is a 28-year-old man, is listed as in critical condition and is awaiting to be transferred to Oschner Medical Center from the Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma. Officials said that because of inclement weather, they are trying to transfer him by ground ambulance.

U.S. Coast Guard

In this photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, helicopter debris can be seen in a marsh area following a helicopter crash that occured near Bayou Penchant, La., at approximately 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 4, 2008.

Ted Lopatkiewicz, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, told the Associated Press that he believes the plane crashed about seven minutes after it took off. Lopatkiewicz said that while the crew reported no problems before the helicopter went down, there were scattered clouds, and visibility was 10 miles at the time of the crash.

According to their website, PHI, Inc. is a helicopter services company that provides transportation to offshore oil and gas, onshore mining, and medical and technical services industries. They are independently owned.

Last year there was another fatal accident involving a PHI helicopter in Texas. In June, three PHI crew members and a patient they were transporting died after their helicopter crashed on a private ranch near Huntsville.

The Terrebonne Sheriff's Office and Airforce Rescue Coordination Center assisted in the investigation.