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SAN FRANCISCO - Nine people are missing and feared dead in the crash of a helicopter that was carrying firefighters over a Northern California forest, officials said yesterday.

The helicopter was carrying 11 firefighters and two crew members when it went down Tuesday night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Four people were taken to hospitals with severe burns, including two in critical condition, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Sikorsky S-61 chopper was destroyed by fire after crashing "under unknown circumstances" in a remote mountain location, said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. Investigators were headed to the scene, about 345 kilometres northwest of Sacramento.

The nine were presumably killed in the fire that destroyed the helicopter, Gregor said.

Two of the injured were flown in critical condition to the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. The other two were taken to Mercy Medical Center in serious condition.