The remains of six people have been found after a helicopter heading to one of the most rugged and remote coastlines in Hawaii crashed at the top of a mountain on the island of Kauai, authorities said. Officials said that there are no indications of survivors and that a search for the last person yet to be recovered would resume in the morning. Those who were recovered have not been identified and their families are being notified, authorities said. Two passengers are believed to be minors, the Coast Guard said. A search began for the helicopter carrying a pilot and six passengers from two families after it was reported overdue Na Pali Coast on Kauai, known as “Jurassic Park island”. An aircraft from Safari Helicopters went missing at about 6pm on Thursday (4am GMT on Friday). "The last contact with the helicopter was made at approximately 4.40pm, when the pilot relayed that the tour was leaving the Waimea Canyon area," the statement said.
Mark Zuckerberg bought a sprawling estate in Kauai in 2014, and has since bought neighbouring parcels of land The helicopter had six passengers, including two children, on board, as well as the pilot. It was last seen off the coast of Kauai island, where the dinosaur epic was partly filmed. The owner of the helicopter contacted the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu, which coordinated crews to search the scene. The helicopter is equipped with an electronic locator, but officials said that no signals has been received. Nearly 80 per cent of Kauai is uninhabited, and much of that is a state park that most helicopter tours include as a point of interest. Mark Zuckerberg, the
Facebook founder, owns a $100 million estate on the island. Officials said weather conditions in the area may factor into the search, but trained crews are on the scene searching for any signs of the helicopter and the seven aboard, said Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Cox, Coast Guard Joint Rescue Command Center Honolulu. There is reportedly four miles of visibility in the area because of clouds and rain. Winds are at 28mph and waves at six feet, with scattered rain showers. Some of the 70,000 residents there have braced for holiday rains and floods, which closed part of a highway on
Christmas Day. The company that conducted the tour was not identified by officials. Politicians in Hawaii have considered implementing tighter restrictions on aerial tours in Hawaii following a string of deadly incidents. The north coast of Kauai Three people were killed when a tour helicopter plummeted onto an Oahu highway in April, and a commercial skydiving plane crashed in June, killing 11 people. Ed Case, a Democrat representative for Hawaii introduced in August a bill that would “impose strict regulations on commercial tour operations,” including helicopters. The bill would prohibit helicopter pilots from serving as tour narrators while flying, among other restrictions. “These tragedies occurred amidst a rapid increase in commercial helicopter and small plane overflights of all parts of Hawaii . . . [and] increased risk to not only passengers but those on the ground,” said Mr Case. However, opponents of the bill pointed out how much money is brought in by the tours. The Hawaii Helicopter Association estimates that air-tour operators contribute nearly $150 million to the state’s
economy each year. “Safe operations, and regulations to ensure that operations are safe, must take into account the geography, weather including cloud cover, specific equipment and air traffic control,” the association said in September.