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| Helicopter Crash in London Kills Two | Helicopter Crash in London Kills Two |
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| LONDON — A helicopter crashed in central London close to the headquarters of Britain’s MI6 spy agency on Wednesday, exploding into flames during the morning rush hour and killing two people, the police said. | LONDON — A helicopter crashed in central London close to the headquarters of Britain’s MI6 spy agency on Wednesday, exploding into flames during the morning rush hour and killing two people, the police said. |
| Witnesses said the helicopter crashed into a crane atop one of Europe’s tallest residential towers in the Vauxhall district on the south bank of the River Thames and hurtled to the ground. Burning aviation fuel spilled along a street and British news reports spoke of cars on fire and people screaming. | |
| The crash badly damaged the crane on the high building — known as The Tower — and it was left dangling high over the street below. At least 12 people were injured.Fire engines, ambulances and dozens of firefighters converged on the scene of the crash, which officials depicted as an accident unrelated to the spy agency headquarters. Firefighters who tackled the blaze rescued a man from a burning car, the London Fire Brigade said. | |
| British officials said the dead were the pilot of the helicopter, who police said was the only person on board, and one other person on the ground. The helicopter had been flying toward Elstree, the location of several British film studios north of London, but was diverted because of bad weather. | |
| Helicopters are not unusual over London. “We have rules and there are procedures in place for helicopter flight,” a defense expert, Paul Beaver, told the Press Association news agency. “It’s much more challenging in reduced visibility. It’s very much up to the pilot to fly the right route and do the right things.” | Helicopters are not unusual over London. “We have rules and there are procedures in place for helicopter flight,” a defense expert, Paul Beaver, told the Press Association news agency. “It’s much more challenging in reduced visibility. It’s very much up to the pilot to fly the right route and do the right things.” |
| Paulo Goncalves, 40, a stonemason from Portugal, who works on The Tower, which is in the St. George Wharf development, said he was getting ready to go to work when he and his co-workers were told to evacuate the building. When they went outside, plumes of black smoke billowed from the wreckage. | |
| “It was scary,”he said, “Really, really scary.” | “It was scary,”he said, “Really, really scary.” |
| After the crash, the building was shrouded in a smoky haze. Traffic snarled as police shut down roads surrounding the accident, including Vauxhall Bridge across the Thames. | After the crash, the building was shrouded in a smoky haze. Traffic snarled as police shut down roads surrounding the accident, including Vauxhall Bridge across the Thames. |
Lark Turner reported from London, and Alan Cowell from Paris. | Lark Turner reported from London, and Alan Cowell from Paris. |