Four feared dead including child in fireball helicopter crash as chopper slams into Houston radio tower & drops from sky
FOUR people are feared 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.
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 with snaps showing it collapsed on the ground, but no nearby homes were damaged, according to the Houston Fire Department.
Nearby residents had faced power outages due to the crash.
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 called the crash a “tragic scene” and said it was fortunate that it had not turned out worse, according to the New York Times.
He 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.
“It is surrounded by residents and that’s where we were very fortunate that it didn’t topple in one direction or another.
“The fireball was pretty much isolated.”
Eric Chaney, 30, who lives near the tower said the tower “fell directly straight down and didn’t collide or impact with any of the houses surrounding the perimeter.”
The FAA, NTSB and DPS will investigate the crash over the course of the next several days.