LAROSE, La. — Search crews have located a helicopter that reportedly crashed into a Lafourche Parish marsh on Friday morning and those aboard are presumed to be dead.
"It appears at this time that there are no survivors," said Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson. "The majority of the helicopter is submerged in the marsh off the Pointe-Aux-Chenes reserve."
Chaisson said there was one passenger and a pilot on board. He said no names would be released until next of kin are notified. He said that RLC, the company that owns the helicopter, would likely release the names at the proper time.
"It appears that the aircraft nosedived and then sunk into the mud," said Chaissson.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office began investigating reports of a possible helicopter crash near Larose, La. after a concerned citizen called Friday morning. Sheriff Craig Webre said the crash reportedly happened near the west side of the South Lafourche Levee System, prompting first responders to search the area by helicopter and boats for hours.
There were reportedly two people onboard the helicopter, which was owned by RLC, at the time of the crash. The company reported one of its oil transportation helicopters missing on Friday.
Larose is a small unincorporated community in Lafourche Parish located about 30 miles southwest of New Orleans.
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