IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Two Killed as Helicopter Crashes Into Colorado River

Two people are dead after a helicopter crashed into the Colorado Rover near Loma after taking off from Grand Junction Airport, authorities said.
Image: A yellow, two-seat helicopter crashed into the Colorado River Saturday evening
A yellow, two-seat helicopter crashed into the Colorado River Saturday evening. Due to the remote nature of the accident scene, another helicopter was called into service to ferry personnel back and forth from the crash site.Christopher Tomnlinson / Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP

LOMA, Colorado - Authorities say two people are dead after a helicopter crashed into a river in western Colorado. Mesa County chief deputy coroner Victor Yahn told The Associated Press that the two died in Saturday's crash.

Local media reports say the chopper crashed shortly after 6 p.m. MDT into the Colorado River near Loma. The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction and NBC station in Denver, KUSA-TV, reported that authorities say at least two people were aboard.

Mesa County Sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa McCammon told the Denver Post that the helicopter took off from the Grand Junction Airport, about 20 miles southeast of the crash site. First-responders told the Daily Sentinel that two fishermen saw the accident and pulled at least one victim from the wreckage. FAA official Allen Kenitzer told KUSA the aircraft is as a Xenon Gyroplane.

Image: A yellow, two-seat helicopter crashed into the Colorado River Saturday evening
A yellow, two-seat helicopter crashed into the Colorado River Saturday evening. Due to the remote nature of the accident scene, another helicopter was called into service to ferry personnel back and forth from the crash site.Christopher Tomnlinson / Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP
- The Associated Press