Helicopter crashes with seven on board on Fox Glacier in New Zealand

A helicopter with seven people on board has crashed at Fox Glacier, a popular New Zealand tourism destination, the country's search and rescue agency said on Saturday.

"A helicopter has crashed off Fox Glacier. It's understood seven people are on board. Four helicopters have been dispatched to the scene of the crash," said New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre spokesman Vince Cholewa. Neither the condition of the passengers nor their nationalities were known, Cholewa said.

Fox Glacier is on the remote west coast of New Zealand's south island and is visited by thousands of tourists each year. The helicopter was operated by Alpine Adventures, a company that provides scenic flights and landings on the glacier, according to local media.

In 2010, a plane headed for Fox Glacier crashed while taking off from a near-by town, killing all nine people on board, including four international tourists.