LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- A tour helicopter crashed Saturday evening in the Grand Canyon in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona, one of the most famous national parks of the United States, leaving three people killed.
A helicopter from Papillion Airways carrying a pilot and six passengers crashed in the Quartermaster Canyon, 620 kilometers east of Los Angeles, at around 5:20 p.m.(0120 GMT Sunday), local ABC 15 news channel reported, citing Hualapai Nation Police Chief Francis Bradley.
Multiple agencies took part in the rescue and investigation, Bradley said.
Gerard Ramalho, a reporter with the NBC, posted pictures on his twitter account Saturday night, showing that rescue crews had found the wreckage of the helicopter, a Eurocopter EC130, in the state of Arizona.
"Four survivors being treated at the scene, all Level 1 'critical' ... can't be airlifted because conditions too windy," he tweeted.
The helicopter tour in the Grand Canyon, which provides stunning aerial views of the magnificent vista, is very popular in the national park and the tickets are always sold out several weeks in advance.
According to the Papillion Airways' website, the Las Vegas-based company flies roughly 600,000 passengers a year on the Grand Canyon and other tours.