Breaking News: Helicopter crashes in London after hitting crane
A helicopter crashed in central London and plunged to the ground in a ball of flames on Wednesday, with police saying it had hit a crane on top of a building.
“A helicopter has struck a crane in Vauxhall and crashed to the ground in a ball of smoke, according to witnesses.”
Two people have died after a helicopter crashed into a crane at a building site in central London in misty conditions, police have said.
Police said it appeared the helicopter had hit the crane on top of a building at about 08:00 GMT.
London Fire Brigade said the crash happened near Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth and 60 firefighters were there.
Burning wreckage lay in the road but firefighters have brought the fire under control.
A man rescued from a burning car by firefighters is one of two people taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.
The incident caused gridlock with all approaches to the Vauxhall Cross one way system closed at the height of the rush hour and Vauxhall Tube station and railway station closed.
The London Evening Standard says “flames and plumes of smoke” can be seen rising from the ground near the tower block which is on Wandsworth Road. Traffic is at a standstill in the Vauxhall and Nine Elms area, the paper says.
The accident has occurred during the London rush hour. ITV says two cars are also involved in the accident and 22 “fire and rescue” units are attending.
In a statement, the Metropolitan police said: “We were alerted at approximately 8am this morning regarding an incident at Wandsworth road SW8,” police said in a statement. “At this early stage it appears a helicopter was in collision with a crane on top of the building. It is too early at this stage to confirm any casualties.”
Police said there was nothing to indicate the incident was an act of terrorism.
An eyewitness told Sky News the crash looked like “a massive ball of flame.”
A caption attached to a video (below) of the crash scene says: “I took a guy down to check the car was empty. We couldn’t see anyone inside, but there were explosions and a lot of fire so we had to pull back.
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