Six people were killed and a seventh seriously injured when a Grand Canyon sightseeing helicopter crashed.
The AS350 helicopter crashed last night under "unknown circumstances" near Meadview, Arizona, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Ms Diana Joubert said. The six victims were reported dead at the scene.
Ms Joubert said the crash site was about 60 miles east of Las Vegas. Because the crash was in a barren, desolate region with no access by road, rescue crews used helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to reach the scene.
"The helicopter, operated by Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, departed from Las Vegas and was returning there from the Grand Canyon at the time of the crash," said Mr Bert Byers, spokesman for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. He said all the passengers on the helicopter were related and were Orthodox Jews from New York.
The lone survivor, a 23-year-old woman, was flown to University Medical Center in Las Vegas in critical condition. She had burns over 90 per cent of her body, according to a nursing supervisor.