EAST ALTON, Ill. (AP) — A helicopter flying over the Mississippi River ran into a powerline Thursday, then crashed into a barge and sparked a fire, killing two people, officials said.
The two dead were flying in the helicopter and there were no other reported injuries in the crash near East Alton, Illinois, said Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. East Alton is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of St. Louis.
The state patrol said no one was on the barge when the crash happened, and the fire has been extinguished. The river has been closed to commercial traffic.
The helicopter ran into a powerline and crashed around 11 a.m. Thursday on the Mississippi River about half a mile (800 meters) downriver from the Alton Dam, said Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender.
Fire, emergency medical and law enforcement personnel responded to the crash. Federal agencies are on the way, Pender said. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
Video provided to KMOV-TV by a witness shows a black plume of smoke rising from the barge.