PAGE, Ariz. -- Italian actor Claudio Cassinelli, 46, and a helicopter pilot died in the crash of a chopper in the Colorado River during the filming of a movie, authorities said Saturday.
Authorities said the body of Cassinelli, 46, who was starring in the science fiction movie 'Mani de Pietra' (Hands of Stone), was recovered from the river shortly after the crash.
Divers searched Saturday for the body of the pilot.
The helicopter hit Navajo Bridge, 15 miles south of Glen Canyon Dam, Friday and fell 400 feet, Coconino County Sheriff's Lt. W.R. Anderson said.
'The pilot tried to fly under the bridge but the rotors struck the bridge, and the helicopter fell into the water,' he said.
Residents said the film crew had been filming the movie in the area for 10 days.
Film crew members said the aircraft hit the span while the helicopter was shooting with a machine gun at an actor on the bridge.
Cassinelli, of Bologna, worked with some of Italy's top directors, including Damiano Damiani and the Taviani brothers, and appeared in the theater and on television as well as on film. He made action pictures but also played Greek tragedy and drama.
His last production was a four-hour special for Italian television called 'Figlio del Vento' (Son of the Wind), which has not yet been shown.
Cassinelli was married to journalist Irene Bgnardi and had a 4-year-old son.
