Two people working on powerlines near the Mississippi River died Thursday when their helicopter hit the lines, crashed into a barge and sparked a fire that belched plumes of black smoke, officials said.
No other injuries were reported in the crash near East Alton, Illinois, said Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. East Alton is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of St. Louis. The crash happened on the Missouri side of the river.
“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.”
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 and they will cooperate with the investigation.
The collision brought an immediate response from about a dozen agencies in Illinois and Missouri, said Kyle Gaines, a spokesperson for the St. Charles County Ambulance District.
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 Deputy Fire Chief Matt Fischer.
No one was on the barge when the helicopter careened into it and the fire has been extinguished, said the state patrol. The river has been closed to commercial traffic.
The helicopter crashed around 11 a.m. Thursday on the Mississippi River about half a mile (800 meters) downriver from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam, said Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender.
Pender added that federal agencies were on the way. The FAA and 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.
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Associated Press writer Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed.
Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press
