Five Americans die in chopper crash in Peru

A helicopter crash in Peru's Amazon jungle Monday killed the seven people on board, a judicial official tells the Reuters news agency.

Corpac, Peru's air transport agency, said the chopper was operated by the local unit of U.S.-based Columbia Helicopters. Columbia, says Reuters, is known for its tandem rotor heavy-lift aircraft used in logging and oil exploration work. Columbia's Lima office declined to comment to Reuters.

A Peruvian official said five U.S. citizens and two Peruvians were on the helicopter, and that rescue crews were recovering their bodies.

Reuters cites local media as saying the people on the craft were employees of Petrominerales Ltd, a Canadian-based oil exploration firm that concentrates on Latin America. Petrominerales' Lima office declined to comment to Reuters.