LONDON —A U.S. Air Force Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in a coastal area of eastern England on Tuesday night, an official said, and police said four people are believed to have died in the accident.

Lt. Keenan Kunst at the Royal Air Force station in Lakenheath, Suffolk County, which hosts U.S. Air force units and personnel, said in a telephone interview that the helicopter that crashed was based there. He said authorities are investigating the crash, and he had no more information.

However police in Norfolk County, where the crash occurred in the Cley coastal area, said four people are believed to have died. They have cordoned off the area.

No other information was immediately available.