HONOLULU — A helicopter taking four tourists on an excursion over West Maui and the neighboring island of Molokai crashed into a mountainside near an elementary school Thursday, killing all of the tourists and the pilot, authorities said.

Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said firefighters recovered four bodies and believe they found a fifth at the crash site on the eastern part of Molokai, but they were having trouble retrieving it under the wreckage. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters owner David Chevalier confirmed that five people were dead.