Fire Ball, Panic As Helicopter Crashes In London
At least two people were killed today in London when a helicopter struck a tall crane, exploded and came crashing to the ground in a ball of fire.
Reporting from London, NPR's Philip Reeves tells our Newscast Desk that "the wreckage landed close to a very busy commuter station at Vauxhall, and not far from a rail line running into Waterloo. ... Several cars caught fire."
The crash happened around 8 a.m. local time. It was a "cold, misty morning," Phil adds.
According to the BBC, at least nine people were injured and one of the fatalities may have been a person who was on the ground. It adds that "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, though the stations have since reopened."
Mark Osbourne, who works at a bike shop near the scene, tells the BBC that:
"I saw a woman on a motorcycle that must have missed the carnage by six feet.
"It felt like a war movie, it was surreal."