Budapest  - A passenger was killed when a helicopter plunged into the Danube River in the Hungarian capital on Tuesday morning after crashing into a floating crane.

One man died after spending five minutes in the freezing cold river and nearby workers were unable to resuscitate him, the ambulance service said.

The pilot and a photographer who was filming a construction site survived the crash.

Initial reports indicated that the man who was killed may have been one of the directors of a company currently building a huge sewage treatment plant at the site. (dpa)