NYPD divers remove 20 pieces of helicopter wreckage from Hudson River collision

NYPD divers remove helicopter pieces from Hudson

NEW YORK — New York police say divers in the Hudson River have removed about 20 small pieces of helicopter wreckage from a mid-air collision over the weekend.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says nine divers returned to the crash site Wednesday morning to search for debris from the collision, which killed nine people.

By noon, they had picked up 20 pieces of the helicopter — all a foot long or less — and rigged larger pieces to be hoisted later.

A prayer service was held earlier Wednesday at a Manhattan funeral home for five Italian tourists killed in the disaster.