MULTIPLE people are dead in a horror helicopter crash after a chopper smashed into a Houston radio tower, officials said.
Footage caught by local Texans shows the craft flying along, hitting the high tower, erupting into flames, and plunging to the ground.
ReutersSecurity camera footage caught the moment the chopper struck the tower[/caption]
Social mediaFootage caught by a local sees the chopper engulfed in a fireball and fall to the ground[/caption]
Social mediaThe helicopter exploded on impact[/caption]
Social mediaThe helicopter erupted into a fireball on impact[/caption]
Not known, clear with picture deskThe aircraft could be seen flying towards the tower before it struck it[/caption]
Twitter/@HoustonFireThe tower collapsed after the chopper hit it[/caption]
The chopper, a Robinson R44, exploded when it hit the ground with a large fireball shooting into the air.
Tragically, one of the people on board was a child, according to local police.
CCTV footage from a local’s home shows the chopper hit the tower at 7.51pm, with officials saying it had taken off from Ellington Field.
Houston’s chief of police said at a news conference the helicopter had either hit the tower directly or a cable connected to it.
Officials said it was not immediately clear how many of the four people on board had died and that they did not know the age of the child.
The tower was also destroyed, but no nearby homes were damaged, according to the Houston Fire Department.
Manuel Arciniega, who was in the area when the crash happened, said: “I just saw the cell tower crumbling down.”
The Houston Fire Department says the helicopter hit a radio tower in the Second Ward shortly before 8pm, Fox26 reported.
The identities of those on board has not yet been released.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said: “We are fortunate that it wasn’t worse, just in terms that there was a butane tank, a gas tank, near the crash scene.”
The FAA, NTSB and DPS will investigate the crash over the course of the next several days.
RexThe helicopter being flown as a Robinson R44, according to officials[/caption]
The craft could be seen hitting the tower before it erupted into flames
Twitter/@HoustonFirePolice said four people had died, including a child[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
