FIVE DEAD AS CHOPPER CRASHES IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK: A private charter helicopter hired for a photo shoot crashed into New York City’s East River on Sunday night and flipped upside down in the water, killing all five passengers aboard, officials said.

The pilot freed himself and was rescued by a tugboat, officials said, while police and fire department divers who recovered the passengers had to remove them from tight harnesses while they were upside down.

“It took awhile for the divers to get these people out. They worked very quickly as fast as they could,” fire commissioner Daniel Nigro said. “It was a great tragedy that we had here.”

A video posted on Twitter shows the red helicopter land hard in the water and then capsize, its rotors slapping at the water.