Three people have been killed and four more injured after a tour helicopter crashed near the Grand Canyon.

A Eurocopter EC130 crashed in 'unknown circumstances' at around 5.30pm around 60 miles northwest of Peach Springs, Arizona.

The helicopter had seven people on board when it crashed on the Hualapai Nation reservation.

The Eurocopter EC130 crashed in 'unknown circumstances' at around 5.30pm

The helicopter was touring the area in Arizona when it crashed.

Witnesses rushed to the scene but the victims were 600ft down in the canyon.

Photographer Teddy Fujimoto told DailyMail.com he had flown to the Grand Canyon to take wedding pictures when he saw people rushing by.

'Our pilot and other pilots all started running,' he said.

'I followed them and I saw smoke. Immediately saw two girls. I could see that they were alive and conscious. They were in their 30s or 40s.

'A lot of chaos going on. They were down in the valley, around 600ft down from where we were.

'People made their way down. It was certainly dangerous and a mazy climb down for them.

It took around 10 minutes for the emergency services to arrive. By the time they did, most of the fire was out.'

Rescuers try to get to the crashed aircraft. Three people died and four were injured in the tragedy

'At approximately 5:20 p.m. (7:20 p.m. ET) a Papillon Airways EC-130 vessel carrying a pilot and six passengers was reported to have crashed near Quartermaster Canyon, within the Grand Canyon on the Hualapai Nation,' police chief Francis E. Bradley Sr. of the Hualapai reservation said.

'Three passengers are confirmed deceased and there are four level 1 trauma patients at the scene,' Bradley said.

The victims had all been on a tour of the Grand Canyon but their trip ended in tragedy.

The helicopter suffered 'sustained substantial damage' in the accident.

Mr Fujimoto said he was left numbed by what he had seen.

'Everybody was in shock. I just felt horrible,' he said.

'You could hear the screaming loudly, even from all that way away. I've never seen anything like it'.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.