Six dead in US helicopter crash

UPDATE DAY

A Vietnam War-era helicopter used for sightseeing flights crashed in a rural area of ​​the US state of West Virginia on Wednesday, killing all six people on board , authorities and local media said. 

The FAA, the US civil aviation regulator, has said it will investigate with the US Aircraft Safety Agency. transport, the NTSB, on the accident which occurred late Wednesday afternoon and whose cause was not yet known.

“We confirm six deaths,” said Thursday Ray Bryant, chief of operations for the Logan County emergency management office, told AFP.

The aircraft, a Bell UH-1B, crashed near a road, according to authorities.

The helicopter, based at a nearby airport and used for sightseeing flights, was ablaze when rescuers arrived, Bryant told WSAZ.

< p>A local resident s, Bobbi Childs, told WOWK-TV of rushing to the scene after seeing flames and smoke.

“I saw there was a man trapped there, I imagine (that it was) the captain (…). I tried to get to him, but the fire was too strong. I couldn't get to him,” she said, quoted by the channel.

The Bell UH-1B, nicknamed the “Huey”, was developed in the years 1950 and widely used by the US Army during the Vietnam War.