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Two people dead after helicopter crashes into barge on Mississippi River Two people dead after helicopter crashes into barge on Mississippi River
(about 1 hour later)
There were no other reported casualties after the crash that occurred about 20 miles north of St Louis, MissouriThere were no other reported casualties after the crash that occurred about 20 miles north of St Louis, Missouri
Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. Two people working on powerlines near the Mississippi River died on Thursday when their helicopter hit the lines, crashed into a barge and sparked a fire that belched plumes of black smoke, officials said.
Cpl Dallas Thompson of the Missouri state highway patrol confirmed that the two people inside the aircraft were killed and that there were no other reported injuries. The state patrol said no one was on the barge when the crash happened. No other injuries were reported in the crash near East Alton, Illinois, said Cpl Dallas Thompson of the Missouri state highway patrol.
The river has been closed to commercial navigation. The state patrol said no one was on the barge when the crash happened.
The helicopter ran into a power line and crashed at about 11am on Thursday on the Mississippi River about a half-mile downriver from the Alton dam, said the Rivers Pointe fire district chief, Rick Pender. “The helicopter was just working on these power lines, it hit the power line, blew up,” said witness Adam Briggs in a video he captured of the crash scene. “There was a pilot, there was a worker, the helicopter blew up and fell and crashed the barge and it’s exploding right now.”
Fire, emergency medical and law enforcement personnel responded to the crash. Federal agencies were on the way, Pender said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. A spokesperson for the power company Ameren said they had a contractor and its subcontractor repairing and replacing tower lighting and marker balls on lines. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims’ families and colleagues,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that they would cooperate with the investigation.
Video provided to KMOV-TV by a witness shows a black plume of smoke rising up from the barge. The nearby fire department rushed by boat to the crash site and were assisted by a private tug boat that helped douse the fire that belched black smoke from the barge, said Alton’s deputy fire chief, Matt Fischer.
The river has been closed to commercial navigation. The helicopter crashed at about 11am on Thursday on the Mississippi River about a half-mile downriver from the Alton dam, said the Rivers Pointe fire district chief, Rick Pender.
Fire, emergency medical and law enforcement personnel responded to the crash, on the Missouri side of the river. Federal agencies were on the way, Pender said. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
The NTSB said an investigator was expected to arrive on site Friday. The helicopter, the agency said, was an MD 369, which are typically smaller.
East Alton is about 20 miles (32km) north of St Louis.East Alton is about 20 miles (32km) north of St Louis.