UPDATE: Tuesday, March 9 @ 9:00am
ELKINS, W.Va. (AP) -- The Navy plans to honor emergency personnel and others who helped rescue 17 people aboard a helicopter that crashed in a remote area of West Virginia last month.

Navy spokesman Mike Maus said officials from Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia will present rescuers with plaques and letters of appreciation during an appreciation ceremony Wednesday at the Elkins-Randolph County Airport.

Though no one onboard the MH-60S helicopter suffered life-threatening injuries, rescuers in Pocahontas County braved extreme cold and rugged terrain Feb. 18 transporting the crew and passengers to medical facilities.

The helicopter was en route from Fort Pickett, Va., to Camp Dawson as part of a training exercise involving the Navy and National Guard.

Navy spokesman Mike Maus said Friday none of the 17 crew and passengers aboard the MH-60S helicopter suffered life-threatening injuries. The Navy is withholding the names of all aboard.

The helicopter took off from Fort Pickett in Virginia on Thursday as part of a training exercise involving the Navy and National Guard. There were 14 Navy and three National Guard members aboard the helicopter when it went down in Pocahontas County about 100 miles south of its destination, Camp Dawson near Kingwood.

The Navy says it is investigating the cause of the crash.

The helicopter is based at the Naval Station Norfolk, Va.

(Video Courtesy: WAVY)

According to a news release, rescued passengers are being evaluated by emergency services agencies in the area and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

National Guard medics are still at the landing site and working with emergency crews to evacuate the remaining passengers.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- West Virginia National Guard members are responding to the scene of a downed military helicopter in Pocahontas County, W.Va.

According to a news release from the West Virginia Air National Guard, a Navy helicopter carrying 17 passengers from Fort Pickett, Va., to Camp Dawson in Preston County, W.Va., was forced to land earlier Thursday. Three members of the West Virginia National Guard were on board the aircraft.

The aircraft was participating in the Southbound Trooper X military exercise. Operation Southbound Trooper X is an annual exercise focusing on the integration of joint U.S. and NATO tactics and procedures as well as inter-service coordination and capabilities.

A West Virginia Army National Guard HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter located the downed aircraft at about 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Two medics were lowered to the landing site to assess the situation and provide assistance to the injured. Rescue personnel have reported several injuries to the passengers but the extent of those injuries is still being determined. No fatalities have been reported.

C-130 Hercules aircraft from the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston have also been orbiting the site to maintain communications with the downed aircraft.

On-site rescue efforts are being coordinated by the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the West Virginia National Guard. The National Guard is working with local officials to deliver food, water, blankets and other essential items to the snow-covered, rugged site, which lies in northwestern Pocahontas County.

UPDATE 2/18/10 @ 10:00 PM
RONCEVERTE, W.Va. (AP) - The military says mountainous terrain
is making it difficult get rescue teams to the West Virginia site
of a Navy helicopter crash.

The helicopter with 17 aboard crashed Thursday afternoon during
a training exercise in a remote, mountainous area.

West Virginia National Guard Lt. Col. Mike Cadle said military crews circling overhead had been in touch with the aircraft. Trees at the crash site were too thick to land a helicopter, he said.

Cadle said he could not confirm earlier reports that four people
had been injured.

The helicopter took off from Fort Pickett in Virginia as part of a medical aircraft training exercise involving the Navy, Army and Air Guard and Canadian Army. The helicopter was headed for Camp Dawson near Kingwood, W.Va.

Cadle said the helicopter crashed in Pocahontas County, north of
Greenbank.

Earlier reports said the helicopter crashed south of Lewisburg. Cadle said he is not sure how the discrepancy occurred.

UPDATE 2/18/10 @ 8:30PM
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A Navy helicopter believed to be carrying up to 17 passengers crashed during a training exercise injuring six people, according to our sister station, WVVA in Bluefield.

WVVA says according to West Virginia Air National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Gilliam, the helicopter went down during a joint training session in southeastern West Virginia.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters told WVVA six people were injured in the crash and are being transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Va.

The extent of the injuries of those involved is not known at this time.

It is not known what caused the crash.

Keep Clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information

ORIGINAL STORY 2/18/10 @ 4:30PM
RONCEVERTE, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia Air National Guard
officer says a Navy helicopter has gone down during a joint
training exercise in southeastern West Virginia.

Lt. Col. Harrison Gilliam says four people were injured in the accident, which occurred about 20 miles south of Lewisburg about 2 p.m. Thursday. The helicopter was participating in a training exercise out of Fort Pickett in Virginia.

Gilliam says it's not immediately clear how many people were aboard the helicopter nor the extent of their injuries. The injured are expected to be taken to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte.

Gilliam says it's unclear what caused the accident in a remote,
hilly area.