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Subscribe to RSSA helicopter's pilot and a bystander on the ground was killed in central London this morning when it hit a crane and fell to the ground in a fiery crash. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
LONDON — Two people were killed and nine others injured when a helicopter apparently hit a crane atop a skyscraper and then crashed on a street in the U.K. capital Wednesday morning, police said.
The crash, which happened at 8 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) in the South Lambeth area of London, caused a large fire that badly damaged at least one car on the ground.
"At this early stage, it appears the helicopter was in collision with a crane on the top of a building," a spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police said.
She said that two people were "confirmed dead at the scene." One person was taken to a nearby hospital in a "critical condition," three others were taken to a hospital with minor injuries while five people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, she added.
Police Commander Neil Basu told reporters that the pilot of the helicopter was killed in the crash.
The helicopter struck St. George Wharf Tower, a 50-story residential block that is still under construction.
In a message on Twitter, London Fire Brigade said they had "rescued a man from a burning car at the scene of the helicopter crash."
In a statement on its website, the fire brigade said 60 firefighters, eight fire engines and four rescue vehicles were sent to the area.
“Firefighters are also attending reports of a crane in a precarious position,” it added.
A photograph posted on Twitter that purported to be of the scene showed an area of fire on a road with a large plume of smoke rising up.
'Massive explosion'Craig Dunne, who was on his way to work at the time of the crash, told BBC News that there had been “a massive explosion.”
“There were cars - three cars on fire - people screaming shouting and hollering, and the next thing I know there are police, ambulances and everything everywhere and people going crazy. It’s madness - absolute madness,” he added. He said the crane was “in pieces.”
Robert Oxley, who was also near the site of the crash, told the U.K.'s Sky News that he could see the damage to the crane from the ground.
"There a very low-hanging cloud which actually means you can barely see the top of the building ... I can see parts of the crane hanging down," he said.
Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said that visibility in London ranged from near zero to 3 miles.
The crash scene is close to the London Heliport, a commercial airbase on the south bank of the city’s River Thames.
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who what where when why
no point in telling us some car/plane/train got damaged, we only care about the people involved.
worthless
Two dead, four taken to hospital (one critically injured), another 5 treated at the scene. Courtesy of the BBC.
Very sad. May God give comfort to the families of these victims.
These Helicopters seem very deadly. In the U.S. we need to ban them. Mr. Obama do something about this please! If one life is saved it is worth it!
Not funny. I hope your guns get taken away.
Yes randy p I agree. They should be severely restricted, at first.
Our guns have been taken away, that's why our murder rate is a tiny fraction of yours. Saw a quote that New York is one of the safest cities in the world, yet has more murders per year than the whole of the UK. No wonder that everybody thinks that Americans are stupid!
Its breaking news, it happened just hours ago.
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This happens to me all the time when I am playing Battlefield 3!