06:12 (GMT+4) The New York Police Department and Fire Department are responding to a helicopter crash near Manhattan, the city mayor's spokesman reported. The helicopter carried six people, according to officials.
The helicopter crashed into the East River. At least two people confirmed dead in the accident, according to the New York City mayor press secretary. A team of divers are still working in the water. Later, the New York Police reported that three people were hospitalized in critical condition. Soon after the first reports, a video of the crash appeared on social media.
The helicopter, believed to be a Eurocopter model AS350, went down on Sunday afternoon in the East River near Roosevelt Island. There were six people on board the helicopter, three of them have been delivered to hospital in critical condition, two declared dead, the pilot managed to escape the vehicle, according to the officials.
05:15 (GMT+4) A helicopter reportedly carrying several people crashed in New York City's East River on Sunday night and rescues were under way, officials said, Fox News reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration tweeted that a Eurocopter AS350 "went down" near Roosevelt Island around 7 p.m., adding the chopper is reportedly upside down in the water. The New York Post described the chopper as a "tour helicopter."
The NYPD and FDNY confirmed rescue operations are under way.
Video posted to social media by WCBS appears to show a man being walked from the scene into an ambulance.
One person was seen being pulled from the water onto a raft after the crash, one witness said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has been briefed on the incident, and divers with both the NYPD and FDNY are already searching the water, the mayor's spokesperson said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash and the extent of possible injuries.