Six people died in Italy when a helicopter crashed during the rescue of a wounded man from a ski slope.

The crash, which happened on Tuesday, killed all six people on board – including two who had been involved in the rescue operation at the avalanche-hit Hotel Rigopiano.

The medical emergency service helicopter was dispatched south of L'Aquila, to rescue a man who had broken a limb on the slopes at the resort of Campo Felice, high in the Apennine mountains.

"The pilot established that the conditions were safe enough and landed," Andrea Lallini, the manager of the slopes told Italian wires agency Ansa.