Helicopter crashes into Roosevelt Lake, passengers pulled from chopper by boaters

ROOSEVELT LAKE, AZ - Authorities are investigating what caused a helicopter with multiple people on board to crash into Roosevelt Lake on Friday afternoon.

A Gila County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said the aircraft went down around 3 p.m, and is in 60 feet of water.

A pilot, along with a male and female passenger were on board when the helicopter crashed into the lake east of the Valley. According to GCSO, the passengers were pulled from the aircraft by nearby boaters who witnessed the crash.

"I guess it was her husband yelling get her out, get her out" said Sherri Kowaski who was boating nearby when the chopper went down. 

She heard it hit the ground then saw three people in the water. 

She and her husband rushed over to pull them out. 

"My husband jumped in to get her.   I'm glad she got out because I didn't think she was going to make it.  It was not a pretty crash."

Two medical helicopters flew the passengers to Phoenix hospitals for evaluations and treatment.

The extent of their injuries wasn't immediately clear and officials wouldn't release their names, ages or hometowns.

Authorities say the Robinson R44 was registered to an Alaskan company and it isn't immediately known why it went down.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash.