photo by KITV
A Chattanooga auto dealer and his two daughters were among six passengers in a helicopter that crashed in a remote section of Hawaii Wednesday evening.
They included Clay Watson, and his daughters, Kennedy and Clayton Watson. There were five passengers plus the pilot, who had to be extricated from the wreck. Mr. Watson is president of Mountain View Auto Group.
Two of the passengers were seriously injured and one was airlifted to Kona Community Hospital.
Fox News said the condition of an 18-year-old passenger was "serious and worsening."
A Watson family friend on Facebook asked for prayer for one of the Watson daughters, saying she was in very serious condition.
The other four passengers were described as ambulatory.
The crash was a mile from the nearest road, so rescue personnel flew to the scene by helicopter.
The helicopter belongs to Paradise Helicopters. They released the following statement:
"A Paradise Helicopters helicopter aircraft operated by K&S Helicopters was involved in an incident at about 5:29 p.m. Wednesday while the aircraft, a Bell 407, was operating on a tour. Preliminary information indicates the aircraft was carrying five passengers and one crew member onboard, final manifest verification has been completed.
"At this time, K&S Helicopters Emergency Response Plan has been activated and the full resources of the company are being mobilized to respond to the incident. K&S Helicopters is cooperating with all authorities involved, and is also working to assist those affected.
“'The care of our passengers, crew members, and their families is our highest priority,' said Calvin Dorn of K&S Helicopters."