By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE (Reuters) – Five people were killed and one injured in a helicopter crash at a glacier near Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said on Sunday.
Searchers found the crash site and lone survivor late Saturday night after the chopper was reported overdue, the troopers said in a written statement. The injured person was rescued and reported to be in serious but stable condition.
The crash site is Knik Glacier northeast of Anchorage. It was not clear from the trooper report on Sunday whether the helicopter crashed on or next to the glacier.
Identities of the pilot and passengers were not immediately available. Notification of the victims’ families had not yet been completed, trooper spokesman Austin McDaniel said.
Recovery was being conducted by the troopers, the Alaska Army National Guard and the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary flight restriction in the area through Monday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Knik Glacier, in the northern Chugach Mountains, is a destination for sightseeing flights and, in summer, hiking and boating tours. The crash site is near the Knik River outflow of the 28-mile glacier, according to a map provided by the troopers.
Knik Glacier and other glaciers in the area have been the sites of numerous military and civilian air crashes over several decades.
(Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; Editing by Dan Whitcomb)
