2 dead in helicopter crash in London
Police confirm two killed after helicopter hit construction crane on top of building in Vauxhall. Police rule out terror link
British police said two people had been killed after a helicopter crashed into a crane on top of a residential block in central London on Wednesday.
"Two people have been confirmed dead at the scene. We have no further details," police said in a statement. Two others had been taken to hospital, it added.
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The helicopter crashed just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and British spy agency, MI6.
British police said there was nothing to suggest a terrorism link to a helicopter crashing into a crane in central London on Wednesday.
"There's nothing in our world at this stage," a spokesman for London's Counter Terrorism Command said. "There's nothing to suggest any terrorism link."
The pilot, who was killed, had requested to divert and land at the nearby London Heliport.
"We received a request from Heathrow air traffic control to accept the helicopter, which had asked to be diverted due to bad weather," the heliport said in a statement.
"The London Heliport never gained contact with the helicopter," the statement added.
A photo shown on Sky News showed wreckage burning in a street, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising in the area. Video from the crash scene showed a line of flaming fuel and debris.
London Fire Brigade said it was called at 8 am to a report of a crash on Wandsworth Road on the south bank of the Thames.
"There was a flash and the helicopter plunged to the ground. It exploded and you can imagine the smoke coming out of it," Paul Ferguson, an office worker near the scene, told BBC News.
Erin Rogers, who was waiting a bus stop near Vauxhall Station, said she "heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor."
"Then the helicopter was in flames. The rest of the people at the bus station were looking on going `What was that?'"
Police said the helicopter appeared to have hit a crane.
Early reports indicated the crane was at St. George's Wharf, a high rise apartment complex with apartments that offer sweeping river and city views.
The area, roughly ten blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to busses or trains there.
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