The Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona, April 12, 2015. Three are killed in a helicopter crash on Saturday.
(Reuters )
A tourist helicopter carrying seven people crashed in the Grand Canyon on Saturday, killing three of the passengers, authorities said.
Six passengers and a pilot were on board of the Papillion helicopter when it crashed around 5:20 pm, Hualapai Nation Police Chief Francis Bradley said.
The other four people were treated on the scene for their injuries. No further information was immediately available on their conditions.
UPDATE#2: Another image of the wreckage of the tour helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon. Pic thanks Teddy Fujimoto. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/oyuxxq9HoO
— Gerard Ramalho (@GerardNews3LV) February 11, 2018
It remained unclear why the Eurocopter EC130 aircraft, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official said, adding that the helicopter was heavily damaged.
The helicopter was on a tour of the canyon and more than a mile deep as it went, Reuters reported, citing information from KNXV-TV.
After an hour of calling to aerial tour company Papillion was not immediately returned on Saturday.
The website of the company says it will fly about 600,000 passengers a year on journeys of the Grand Canyon and other sites.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
