7 bodies pulled from Hudson after mid-air crash

Divers have pulled a helicopter and four more bodies out of the murky Hudson River in their search for victims, wreckage and explanations from a midair collision of a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane that killed nine people.

Divers have pulled a helicopter and four more bodies out of the murky Hudson River in their search for victims, wreckage and explanations from a midair collision of a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane that killed nine people.

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The dead from Saturday's crash include three fathers and their three teenage sons. The private plane carried a family from Pennsylvania, and the helicopter held five Italian tourists celebrating a couple's 25th wedding anniversary.

The plane approached the helicopter, which had just taken off for a 12-minute tour, from behind and clipped it with a wing, witnesses said. Both aircraft split apart and fell into the river.

Searchers fought swift currents, dealt with visibility as low as one foot, and dodged debris dumped along the river bottom as they brought four more bodies on to boats. One was found in the fuselage of the helicopter, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones said. Two bodies remained missing.

A US Army Corps of Engineers crane lifted the twisted wreckage of the helicopter from 30 feet of water. Nearby, a sonar scanner found the small plane wreckage, New York City police said. More plane wreckage was found farther out in the river under about 50 feet of water.