Investigations have started into what caused a US Air Force helicopter to crash in Norfolk, killing all four people on board.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk, based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, came down at a nature reserve in Cley next the Sea on Tuesday night.
The aircraft, assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing, was on a low-level training mission.
A 1,200ft (400m) area is cordoned off and the A149 through Cley is closed.
The wreckage has scattered over an area the size of a football pitch and it will take a number of days to carry out an inquiry, due to the geography of the area and munitions from the crashed helicopter, police said.
The public are urged to avoid the crash site, which lies to the west of East Bank in marshland between the A149 and the coastline.
'Difficult terrain'A second helicopter from RAF Lakenheath, which landed on the marshes shortly after the crash also remains at the scene.
Ch Supt Bob Scully, from Norfolk Police, said: "In order to carry out a thorough investigation in a safe manner, the area will remain cordoned off with no access for the general public.
"We will be working the Ministry of Defence, Air Accident Investigation Branch and US Air Force to gather all evidence from the scene and then recover the aircraft.
"This is difficult terrain with marshland and tides coupled with wreckage containing munitions covering a large area.
"We must undertake this investigation and recovery operation in a careful and methodical way so we can provide answers as to why this crash happened.
"For reasons of safety it is essential that members of the public adhere to the cordon.
"Walking and bird-watching in this area will therefore be restricted until we have completed these tasks and ensured the marshes are safe."
'Very loud'Details of the four crew members will not be released until next-of-kin have been informed, police said.
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Eyewitness Brian Egan recorded footage of the helicopter "flying low" before the crash
Bernard Bishop, a Norfolk Wildlife Trust warden based at Cley, said his house overlooks the crash site and he had never seen anything like it.
"I heard the helicopter flying overhead and watched from my back garden," he said.
"It was very quickly obvious something serious was wrong. The search and rescue crews quickly arrived and it was my job to escort them over the marsh.
"The conditions are very difficult because the marsh has flooded twice in recent weeks so that's hampering their efforts to recover the bodies and make the helicopter safe.
"There's only one track in and out of the crash site, which is also restricting their movements.
"It's just awful. I've never known anything like and never seen so many people here at one time."
Accidents 'rare'The HH-60G Pave Hawk is a version of the US Army's Black Hawk helicopter and is used for combat search and rescue, mainly to recover downed aircrew or other isolated personnel in war zones.
It is just more than 17m long (nearly 65ft) and has a maximum speed of 224mph.
The 48th Fighter Wing, also known as the Liberty Wing, is assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe.
Aviation expert Chris Yates told BBC's Today programme: "This area of the country has lived with military operations for an awful lot of years, and it's rare for accidents such as this to happen.
"We have to be mindful that these are military flyers and they are the best, of the best, of the best.
"It would be unusual, once we get through this investigation, to find that this was pilot error; it might be more mechanical fault."
Cley is one mile east of Blakeney and four miles north of Holt, on the main coast road between Wells and Sheringham.
The village's nature reserve is famous as a bird-watching site.
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