Seven bodies have been recovered from mid-air collision between a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane over the Hudson River which killed nine a day ago, authorities said on Sunday.

Divers work to recover wreckage and bodies from the site of a crash between a sightseeing helicopter and a small fixed wing airplane over the Hudson River, in New York, August 9, 2009. Nine people, including five Italian tourists, were killed yesterday when a small plane collided with a helicopter sending both aircraft plunging into the Hudson River.[Xinhua]

Rescue teams and divers will continue searching for the remaining two victims, Debbie Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) told a news conference held in Hoboken, New Jersey.

She said most of the wreckage from the helicopter involved in the collision has been recovered and moved to a nearby pier.

"The helicopter sustained significant damage," Hersman said, adding that the helicopter was gaining altitude at the time of the crash.

The tourist chopper took off from the 30th Street heliport off Manhattan's west Midtown area with five Italian tourists and a pilot on board around Saturday noon. It later collided with the small private plane carrying three and departing from the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey in the air in perfect flying conditions. Both fell into the Hudson River.

The collision happened in the same stretch of the Hudson where a US Airways jet landed safely seven months ago. It was the worst air disaster in New York City since a commercial jet crash in Queens killed 265 people in November 2001.

The NTSB, which is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash, said it was too early to identify a cause at the point.

"We are still in the early fact-gathering stages," Hersman said.

Divers work to recover wreckage and bodies from the site of a crash between a sightseeing helicopter and a small fixed wing airplane over the Hudson River, in New York, August 9, 2009. Nine people, including five Italian tourists, were killed yesterday when a small plane collided with a helicopter sending both aircraft plunging into the Hudson River. [Xinhua]

Local reports said the five Italian tourists were from Italy's Bologna area. One of them was a husband celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary. His wife had stayed behind but their 16-year-old son was in the helicopter.

The small plane was controlled by Pennsylvania resident Steven Altman who was killed along with his brother and nephew in the crash.

The fatal collision took place in a densely-crowded air corridor, shared by commercial flights, private pilots and tourist helicopters.

In January, a US Airways jet with over 150 people on board was forced to make a splash landing in the Hudson River after suffering a bird hit. All passengers and crew survived and the pilot was proclaimed a hero.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2009)