Emergency services are responding to reports of a helicopter crash in south London.
- Two dead, including pilot, in London chopper crash
- Aircraft hit crane atop tower building in morning rush hour
- Street aflame and cars burnt out in dreadful scenes
LONDONERS have told how they feared a terror attack as a helicopter spun from the sky and crashed near the MI6 building in an accident that has killed two people.
Emergency services were called to the scene near the River Thames at Wandsworth Road South Lambeth about 8am local time, after reports an aircraft hit a construction crane atop a new luxury housing development.
Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to clip a crane in heavy fog and cartwheeled to the road below on top of busy peak-hour traffic. The crash caused a fire to one side of the building.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there were 11 casualties, including two dead, one person critically ill, and others "less seriously injured".
A helicopter has crashed close to Vauxhall train station in central London during the morning rush hour.
With 25 years experience, Captain Barnes had logged more than 10,500 flying hours and was highly regarded among his peers for his skill and professionalism.
Dramatic footage shot on mobile phone by bystanders showed a ferocious fire on the street as aviation fuel ignited.
Steve Heard posted this image of the scene on Twitter: "Helicopter Crash in Vauxhall Waterloo and Vauxhall stations now closed. #Chaos" Picture: @steveheard82/Twitter
A pall of smoke hung over the city, initially sparking fears an aircraft had gone down in a terror attack as the M16 intelligence building is a few metres away. The rumour was fuelled on social media.
But The Met Police quickly issued a bulletin confirming the accident was not terror related.
The busy London Heliport at Battersea is nearby and it is not clear whether the helicopter was coming or going.
Wayne Courtney posted this image of the crash on Twitter. Picture: @waynieboy75/ Twitter
Australian Patrick Gartland was cycling to work when the chopper crashed and he told Sky News that he and another cyclist took cover in a nearby bus shelter for up to 15 minutes as debris rained down.
"The helicopter was ablaze to the right of us," said the former Melbourne resident who moved to UK seven years ago.
"Watching the helicopter cartwheel down and the first realisation there's people in the helicopter and they're not going to survive," Mr Gartland said, relaying what went through his mind during the ordeal.
See the dramatic events unfold from ground level after a helicopter crashed on a busy London street.
"And then you watch the helicopter crash and explode and then you're snapped back into reality with construction workers yelling for people to take cover and you realise `I need to get away from this and protect my own safety.
"Your instincts kick in a little. Once we were under the safety of the bus shelter and you realise you're out of immediate danger, you start realising the gravity of what you've just witnessed."
One witness, Sarah-Beth Casey, who lives in a nearby apartment said that "you're always worried about things like 9/11".
Twitter user Tom posted this image of the fire on the road in Vauxhall with this caption: "Sh**ts gone down in vauxhall." Picture:@tim_avis/Twitter
"When I heard the explosion, it was like a little earthquake. I looked up to see debris falling off the tower," she said.
Allen Crosbie, site manager for the landscape firm Maylim company, who was working at the scene, said the explosion convinced him and others that London was being attacked.
"I was 100 per cent sure it was a terrorist attack," he said.
Nic Walker posted this image of the crash site on Twitter: "The remains of the helicopter fuel. It ditched into the building on the left." Picture: @Nic0/Twitter
"There was debris everywhere, a tonne of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang, bang - I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack."
He and everyone just ran for their lives, he said.
Another witness, Erin Rogers, was waiting for a bus at Vauxhall station when she saw the crash.
The unrecognisable wreckage of the helicopter is cordoned off. (AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld)
"It was a bit surreal actually," she said.
"I just had a coffee in my hand I looked up heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor. Then the helicopter was in flames."
Construction worker Mat Haverson also thought it was a "terror attack". "It was extremely scary," he added.
Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image of the crane that had fallen to the ground: "Part of the crane on the ground by the crash site." Picture: @QuinMurray/Twitter
One of the first firefighters on the scene said it was "absolute chaos", but revealed that the helicopter blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes.
Station Officer Bruce Grain said the helicopter had clipped the crane, spun out of control and crash-landed, hitting several vehicles.
"It burst into flames, which spread to adjacent buildings," he said.
Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image:"Helicopter just hit a crane and crashed a few metres in front of me in vauxhall. Completely shaken." Picture: Twitter/@QuinMurray
"I could see smoke from a mile away. There was absolute chaos. The helicopter was still alight, part of the rotor blade was on the roof of nearby buildings.
"We were aware that the helicopter could have had a full tank of fuel, but we just used water."
Sharon Moore, who lives on the nearby Wyvil Estate, said she saw the aircraft slice through the crane "as if it was a piece of paper".
Debris and a burned out car where the chopper crashed. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL
The 36-year-old woman, who was with her nine-year-old daughter Tiah, described hearing four bangs and watching two cars explode.
"My daughter was so traumatised, it was so shocking," she said. "It sounded like a massive explosion, like something whining in the sky and then it just went 'bang'.
"You couldn't see a lot at first because of the fog. The helicopter did not seem to know which way to turn and then it just dropped, it sliced, screeching into the metal.
The damaged crane on St Georges Wharf Tower after a helicopter hit it. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
"I called the police and they got there in seconds. We could then see them trying to pull people out of the cars."
She described seeing what appeared to be body bags.
"We saw someone pulled out and they were covered."
Emergency services at the scene. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
She said the incident was "like something out of an action movie".
"We saw the helicopter falling out of the sky, loads of smoke as it landed.
"It went bang. Another car went bang. There was lots of smoke and debris."
Remnants of the helicopter which crashed onto a construction crane are seen on the ground.
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The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute, when thousands of pedestrians were trying to get to work.
William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker at the St. George Wharf Tower, said he heard the helicopter hit the crane.
"First we heard a big crash, looked up, that's when we saw the helicopter coming toward us. We heard an explosion as it hit the ground," he said.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he believed the helicopter was being diverted to a nearby heliport when it crashed.
"The top of the crane was actually obscured by fog so I didn't see the impact," witness Michael Gavin told the BBC. "But I heard a bang and saw the body of the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane and then a large plume of smoke afterwards."
The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there.
Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights.
"The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Mr Yates said.
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