James Taylor, 36, the only survivor of the tragic medical helicopter collision near Flagstaff, has died. He was a registered nurse at St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City and was flying in a patient to the Flagstaff Medical Center. Thus the death toll is now up to seven.

The accident occurred just east of Flagstaff Medical Center, near a mesa, at approximately 3:45 p.m. local time on June 30, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration. The first medical helicopter was operated by Air Methods Corp, an air medical service provider headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, while the other helicopter was operated by Classic Helicopter of Woods Cross, Utah.

At the time of the crash, both of the Bell 407 choppers were headed to the Flagstaff hospital. Flagstaff lies about 75 miles south of the Grand Canyon National Park, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the United States, which registers around 5 million visitors a year.

The crash, which happened on a hillside covered with pines, led to a huge fire spread on about 5 hectares. Fortunately, the fire crews promptly intervened and successfully contained the flames.

More than 750 medical helicopters are currently operational throughout the United States and this weekend’s event is just the latest and most tragic in a long line of incidents. FAA said the Flagstaff collision was only the second mid-air crash involving a medical helicopter in the past 25 years, and the first that involved two medical aircraft.

The authorities are looking into ways of setting some high and carefully chosen safety standards in order to avoid such happenings from occurring. In a similar turn of events, four people were killed last year in Arizona, when two news television helicopters collided while covering a car chase incident.