At least two people have died after a tourist helicopter crashed into New York City‘s East River, the mayor’s office has confirmed. One person was rescued via tugboat at the scene.
The chopper went down just after 7pm local time, plunging into the water. Footage showed the helicopter landing hard in the water and tipping over, with its rotors still in operation.
It was not immediately known how many people were in the chopper, but some media outlets were reporting police sources as saying five people were trapped.
Footage of the crash was caught by passerby John Magers.
@cnn @FoxNews just witnessed a helicopter crash into the East River .. hope everyone’s ok. Caught it all on tape! pic.twitter.com/saHOMTLR69
— JJ Magers (@JJmagers) March 11, 2018
Emergency responders from the Fire Department and Coast Guard arrived on the scene.
FDNY members are on scene with @nypdnews for a confirmed helicopter in the East River, 8611 E 91 St. Manhattan pic.twitter.com/zojrGp2Ay0
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 11, 2018
“One person has been rescued by a tugboat on scene,” said the Coast Guard in a statement. “Five people have been recovered by the New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department divers and their conditions are currently unknown.”
We’ll update this story as it continues to develop.
