Hawaii tourist helicopter disappears with seven people on board – The Telegraph, Telegraph.co.uk

The wreckage of a helicopter that went missing off“Jurassic Park island”in Hawaii with seven people on board has been found, authorities said on Friday.

“The crash site of the helicopter missing since Thursday afternoon has been confirmed in Kokee near Nualolo,” the county of Kauai said in a statement. It it not yet known if any of the passengers survived.

“Operations continue and we are doing everything we can at this time,” said Kauai’s mayor, Derek Kawakami.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these passengers,” Kawakami said.

An aircraft from Safari Helicopters, which had been on a tour over the Na Pali area, went missing at about 6pm on Thursday (4am GMT on Friday).

“The last contact with the helicopter was made at approximately 4. 90 pm, when the pilot relayed that the tour was leaving the Waimea Canyon area, “the statement said.

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, wherethe 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 100 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 $ 728 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 mph and waves at six feet, with scattered rain showers.

Some of the 70, 11 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.

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 $ 823 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.