An Iraqi helicopter helping deliver aid to tens of thousands of Yazidis on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq has crashed, injuring a senior war correspondent of the New York Times, and an Iraqi member of parliament, along with other passengers.

NYT reports that the crash occurred right after the helicopter had delivered aid packages and was taking off from the mountaintop, carrying an undetermined number of refugees who wanted to be moved off Mount Sinjar.

Like Us on Facebook

Iraqi government TV reports that the pilot was killed and some of the passengers, included children, were injured.

Ms. Allis J. Rubin, 56, Paris bureau chief for the New York Times and a veteran war correspondent, reportedly suffered a concussion and broken wrists but was conscious, according to NYT. A freelance photographer accompanying Rubin, identified as Adam Ferguson, 35, was also on the helicopter when it crashed but was not injured. Ferguson was able to call NYT about the accident.

Kurdish regional government officials said two rescue helicopters had taken the survivors off the mountain and taken them to safety.

From an emergency base near Erbil, they had been taken by ambulances to the city of Dohuk, about 20 miles from Erbil.

Aside from the pilot, there were no other fatalities. The crash was entirely an accident, say Kurdish officials, but the real cause was not immediately clear.

Other Iraqi officials said a female member of parliament, a member of the Yazidi sect, was among those on board the helicopter and was injured during the crash. There was no indication that Islamic State militants has anything to do with the crash, nor were anywhere near the site of the crash.