Copter Crash Near Grand Canyon Kills 7

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By BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX - Recovery crews hiked into a rugged area of the Grand Canyon on
Sunday to reach the remains of a sightseeing helicopter that crashed with
seven people aboard, including at least four international tourists.
Authorities said there were no survivors.



The helicopter, operating out of Las Vegas, went down after noon Saturday in
rugged terrain about 60 miles east of Las Vegas. It burst into flames upon
impact, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.


The French-made Aerospatiale helicopter had taken off from the Grand Canyon
West Airport with the pilot and six passengers aboard and had been headed
for the bottom of the canyon, said Federal Aviation Administration (news -
web sites) operations officer Larri Frelow.


Two of the passengers were Japanese citizens and at least two others were
German tourists, said Carlos Rooks, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. He
said the pilot was also Japanese. According to the Japanese consulate in Los
Angeles, the pilot was a Japanese citizen who was a legal resident of the
United States.


Authorities did not immediately release the identities of the victims
pending family notification.