Helicopter crash kills 7 in Italy

Italian authorities said Saturday that a helicopter that disappeared from air traffic radar screens on Thursday was located and all seven on board were killed.

According to news reports, a hiker passing through the area near Monte Cusna -- a mountain in the central Italian region of Emilia Romagna near its border with Tuscany -- called authorities after finding possible remains of the crash.

Reports from the Modena Prefect in Emilia Romagna said the pilot, an Italian, plus four Turkish citizens and two from Lebanon were killed in the accident.

Italian authorities had been conducting a search for the helicopter and its passengers since Thursday when the chopper was lost en route from the Tuscan city of Lucca to Treviso, a city located north of Venice.

The aircraft went down after hitting an area of bad weather, news reports said. Italian officials have not issued a statement about the potential cause of the crash.

Video footage of search efforts showed the area around the 2,121-meter (nearly 7,000 feet) Monte Cusna as densely wooded and almost entirely uninhabited. Monte Cusna is part of Italy's picturesque Apennine Mountain Range.Authorities initially found five bodies on Saturday. A few hours later, the remaining two bodies were located. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )