Five people were killed Sunday night after a helicopter crashed in the East River, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer has learned.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a Eurocopter AS350 went down in the river near the northern end of Roosevelt Island at around 7 p.m. The NYPD said there were six people on board. CBS2’s Kramer reported the pilot survived and was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
The FAA initially said the helicopter was inverted in the water, but the NYPD later said it was submerged and upside down. Numerous NYPD and FDNY units were on the scene. Several divers entered the water.
“It’s cold water. It was sinking really fast,” Mary Lee, 66, told the New York Post. “By the time we got out here, we couldn’t see it. It was under water.”
