Five Killed In New York City Helicopter Crash

Five people were killed in a helicopter crash on New York City's East River, authorities said. The aircraft -- a Eurocopter AS350 -- went down near Roosevelt Island around 7 p.m. Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Six people were aboard when it crashed, the Coast Guard said in a statement. One person was rescued by a tugboat and five others were "recovered by divers," it said.

The pilot freed himself from the chopper, but the others were unable to free themselves, FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said in a news conference Sunday evening. Divers with the city's police and fire department were able to free the passengers, he added.

Three of the victims were rushed to nearby hospitals in critical condition and two were pronounced dead at the scene, Nigro said. The three who were raced to hospitals later died, the FDNY said. Authorities did not identify the names of the pilot or passengers.

The helicopter is owned by Liberty Helicopter Tours and was hired for a private photoshoot, New York City police Commissioner James P. O'Neill said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending a team to investigate the crash Monday morning.

Witnesses said the chopper appeared to quickly fill with water. Mary Lee, 66, told the New York Post she witnessed the crash from her apartment window.

"It's cold water. It was sinking really fast," Lee said. "By the time we got out here, we couldn't see it. It was under water."

Another witness said she saw the helicopter descending rapidly before hitting the water.

"It almost looked like it was landing," Xinran Jiang, who witnessed the crash from her bedroom window, told The New York Times. "It wasn't moving fast. We were curious where it was going to land. Then the next minute, it was diving into the river."