Five Italian tourists and a pilot were on board the helicopter that collided with a small plane over New York's Hudson River, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today.
Mr Bloomberg said there were three people on the plane. Two bodies have been recovered and the rescue operation has now turned into a recovery mission.
Witnesses said the accident happened just after noon between Manhattan and Hoboken, New Jersey.
Both aircraft crashed into the water.
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Emergency crews are on both sides of the river and police divers are going into the water.
Eyewitness Buzz Nahas saw the crash from the shore in Hoboken, New Jersey.
He said there was a loud pop, like a car backfiring, the helicopter “dropped like a rock” and that the plane lost its wing.
Agencies