Two people died and three others were seriously injured after a helicopter from Liberty Helicopters crashed into the East River Strait in New York at dusk on Sunday.
Police reported that a sixth person, the pilot, managed to escape the craft and was rescued by a passing boat.
The red helicopter was chartered for a photo opportunity when it sank near the official residence of Mayor Gracie Mansion. A flotilla of boats rushed to search for survivors.
A video shot by a passerby and posted on Twitter shows a helicopter trying to land on the water. He then tilts to the side while his rotors hit the water with violence.
The device, a Eurocopter AS350, is a model used by tourism companies.
Witnesses told local media that the water had quickly infiltrated the device.
“It’s cold water. It sank very quickly, said Mary Lee at the New York Post. Before we could arrive on the scene, we did not see him anymore. He was under the surface. ”
Police and fire divers pulled the five passengers out of the helicopter.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the accident occurred shortly after 7 pm. The helicopter belonged to the company Liberty Helicopters, which offers tours very popular with tourists. The company did not respond immediately to the Associated Press’s request for comment.
The New York skyline is buzzing with helicopters carrying tourists, business people, traffic reporters, medical teams and others.
A small fleet of boats surveyed the waters in search of survivors with the help of various.
This is unfortunately not the first time an accident occurs.
In 2009, a helicopter of the same model belonging to the same company involved in Sunday’s crash collided with a small private plane on the Hudson River, killing nine people, including a group of Italian tourists.
An accident in October 2011 in the East River killed a British woman who was visiting the city for her fortieth birthday. Three other passengers were injured.
During a guided tour of Manhattan, a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in July 2007, shaking the eight people on board, but not injuring anyone.
In June 2005, two helicopters crashed in the East River during the same week. Eight people were injured in one accident and seven people in the other.
