Six people were injured when a tour helicopter crashed into a lava field on Hawaii's Big Island. Rescuers were unable to reach the downed helicopter by vehicle, so the Hawaii Fire Department dispatched a pair of helicopters to the scene, which was over a mile from the nearest road.
Cyrus Johnasen, the public information officer for Hawaii County, said that there were six people on the helicopter, and they were safely airlifted from the crash site and taken to the hospital. The pilot, who is in his 50s, was trapped and had to be extracted from the wreckage. He was hospitalized and remains in serious condition. A 19-year-old woman had to be airlifted to the hospital and is in serious but worsening condition. The other people on the helicopter included a 23-year-old man, a 48-year-old man, a 54-year-old man, and two female teenagers. They were also hospitalized and are in stable condition with undisclosed injuries.
Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are trying to determine what caused the Bell 407 helicopter to crash.
The helicopter belonged to Paradise Helicopters and was being operated by K&S Helicopters.
"The care of our passengers, crew members, and their families is our highest priority," Calvin Dorn of K&S Helicopters said in a statement.