Wreckage from a missing tour helicopter carrying seven passengers has been found, police on the Hawaiian island of Kauai said Friday afternoon.
The wreckage was located in Kokee, near Nualolo, about 9:30 a.m., said Battalion Chief Solomon Kanoho of the Kauai County Fire Department. The remote area is along the north coast of the island.
“Our ground and air crews continue to search for survivors,” he said. “We still hold up hope.”
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He said the passengers were connected to “two different sets of family members.”
The U.S. Coast Guard had been searching Friday for the “overdue” tour helicopter carrying seven people, two believed to be minors, that went missing Thursday night off the coast of Hawaii.
The helicopter, which was touring Kauai’s Napali Coast, had been due back at 5:21 p.m. Thursday.
Kanoho said 25-knot winds were blowing before the crash, but the cause of the crash was unknown. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending three investigators.
Gov. David Ige offered to deploy state resources for the search effort, and Kauai Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said in a statement that “we are doing everything we can at this time.”
Kauai is an island west of Oahu, which is where Honolulu is located.
The aircraft was equipped with an electronic locator, but no signals had been received, according to the Coast Guard.
Phil Helsel and Dennis Romero contributed.