5 passengers dead after helicopter plunges into New York City’s East River; the pilot survived

A helicopter plunged into the frigid waters of New York’s East River on Sunday night, killing five of the six people on board, authorities said.

The red helicopter crashed into the river near Roosevelt Island, between Manhattan and Queens, at about 7 p.m., police said. Videos captured by witnesses show the helicopter descending quickly, capsizing and tilting onto its side, its rotor blades still spinning in the water.

The pilot managed to free himself and call out for help from a flotation device, witnesses told reporters at the scene. A fire boat took the pilot to shore, where an ambulance took him to a hospital, New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said at a Sunday-night news conference, adding that the pilot is “okay.”