MOSUL, Jan 25: A US army helicopter crashed into the Tigris river here on Sunday on a mission to rescue a US soldier lost in the river in a boat accident that killed two Iraqi police and a civilian, the military said.

"An OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter attached to the 101st Airborne Division crashed at approximately 6:40 pm (1540 GMT) in the Tigris river near downtown Mosul. A search for the two pilots is underway," a US spokesman said.

"The helicopter was on a search and rescue mission for a US soldier reported missing when the boat he was in capsized at approximately 5:15 pm today." The spokesman said the boat contained three other US soldiers and members of the Iraqi police force patrolling the waters around Mosul, 370 kilometres north of Baghdad. "The other soldiers are reported safe, two Iraqi police and one Iraqi translator are reported dead," he said.-AFP