Tour helicopter crashes in Hawaii
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Seven people are presumed dead after the tour helicopter they were flying in crashed on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The helicopter, carrying six passengers and a pilot, was last seen when the aircraft took off on Friday morning for a tour over the island’s lush tropical waterfalls and mountains. The sightseeing trip was scheduled to last 30 minutes but when the helicopter failed to return after almost an hour, search and rescue teams were dispatched. The wreckage was discovered hours later in a deep valley near Ioa Needle, a grassy, narrow mountain that is a popular tourist attraction. Rough terrain A coast guard said there were low clouds at the time of the crash, but these are said to be normal conditions for the lush misty valley. Late on Friday night, rescue workers were still trying to cross the steep, rough terrain to reach the wreckage. The flight was chartered by the Blue Hawaiian Company, which, according to its website, flies 140,000 people a year. Source : news.bbc.co.uk |