Two people died on Thursday when their helicopter hit power lines near the Mississippi River, crashed into a barge and sparked a fire, officials said. The incident occurred about 20 miles north of St Louis, Missouri, near East Alton, Illinois.
No other injuries were reported, and no one was on the barge at the time of the crash, said Corporal Dallas Thompson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Witness Adam Briggs captured video of the scene, stating, “The helicopter was just working on these power lines, it hit the power line, blew up. 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 power company Ameren said a contractor and its subcontractor were repairing and replacing tower lighting and marker balls on the lines. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the victims’ families and colleagues,” the spokesperson said, adding that they would cooperate with the investigation.
The nearby fire department responded by boat, assisted by a private tug boat to douse the fire that produced black smoke from the barge, said Alton’s deputy fire chief, Matt Fischer. The river has been closed to commercial navigation. The crash occurred at about 11am on Thursday, half a mile downriver from the Alton dam, said Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender.
Federal agencies, including the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, will investigate the crash. The NTSB said an investigator was expected to arrive on site Friday. The helicopter was identified as an MD 369, typically a smaller aircraft.
