PLAQUEMINES PARISH - Search and rescue crews have suspended a search effort for four people who were aboard a helicopter when it crashed near the Louisiana coast early Thursday afternoon. 

The U.S. Coast Guard got a call reporting the crash around 8:40 a.m. Thursday. While reportedly leaving an oil rig, the helicopter went down about 10 miles off the coast near Plaquemines Parish.

The search for the pilot and three passengers was suspended at 6:15 p.m. that day, according to the Coast Guard. Crews searched 180 square miles of the Gulf for eight hours.

"It is always a difficult decision to suspend a search," said Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Keefe, Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator. "Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends during this difficult time."

Lacy Scarborough told the Sun Herald her husband, David Scarborough, is one of the four who were on the helicopter. She says he works offshore, and he was returning to their coastal Mississippi home at the time of the crash.

This is a developing story.