Three bodies had been recovered before search operations were called off for the day after a helicopter collided with a plane over the Hudson River with altogether nine aboard, the National Transportation Safety Board said late Saturday.

Police boats search the site of a crash between a sight seeing helicopter and an airplane over the Hudson River, in New York, the United States, Aug. 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

The nine passengers were believed all killed during the collision.

According to local reports, search and recovery operations will resume Sunday morning.