World News
London helicopter crash: Two die in Vauxhall crane accident─── 12:56 Wed, 16 Jan 2013
London - Two people have been killed and nine injured when a helicopter crashed into a crane in central London in misty conditions.
Police said it appeared the helicopter had hit the crane on top of The Tower, One St George Wharf at about 08:00 GMT.
Sixty firefighters are at the scene near Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth. Doctors said one of the dead was in the helicopter and the other on the ground.
Burning wreckage lay in the road but the fire is now under control.
A man was rescued from a burning car by firefighters.
Four people, one of them critically ill, were taken to hospital. Five others were treated at the scene.
The incident caused gridlock with all approaches to the Vauxhall Cross one way system closed at the height of the rush hour and Vauxhall Tube station and railway station closed.
The fire brigade was also at St George's Wharf to secure the damaged crane.
Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "We believe there are 11 casualties, two fatalities and nine less seriously injured but one is critically ill. People are presenting themselves to different places."
Eyewitness Aaron Rogers: "All of a sudden the helicopter was in flames" (footage Jose Gomez)
London Fire Brigade station manager Bruce Grain said crews arrived at the scene in four minutes.
He said the helicopter crashed into Wandsworth Road hitting various vehicles and bursting into flames and there were also fires in nearby buildings.
He said the fire was under control within 25 minutes but crews would probably be at the scene for the rest of the day damping down.
Vauxhall bus station is always busy. It's a hub where people can connect with the Underground and rail services. Helicopters flying along the river are a common sight.
This morning the rush hour was confused as well as crowded. In the aftermath of the crash, bus and other traffic had been held back on the Wandsworth Road.
It wasn't long before there were tailbacks. The journey wasn't any easier on foot. Pedestrians were directed away from the main road and pavements running along the Nine Elms Sainsbury's supermarket and on to side streets.
By the time I arrived at Vauxhall bus station the police were starting to tape off many of the approach roads as well. You could still smell the smoke and it was difficult to see the top of the tower and the damaged crane.
Commuters mingled with large groups of construction workers - the crowd took time to move despite the efforts of police community support officers and bus station staff.
A lifeboat searched the Thames after a request from London Heliport at Battersea which had lost contact with one of its aircraft, an RNLI spokesman said, but the search was later called off.
Video footage shot on a mobile phone showed an entire road blocked by burning wreckage and aviation fuel.
The side of a building on one side of the street was also damaged by the flames.
Passers-by stood watching as the wreckage burned. A motorcycle was also lying on its side in the road where it was abandoned.
Mark Osbourne, from Metropolis Motorcycles, a bike shop near the scene, said he ran to try and help the injured.
"There was lots of wreckage and fire," he said.
"I saw a woman on a motorcycle that must have missed the carnage by six feet.
"It felt like a war movie, it was surreal.
"The police arrived within minutes so the response was excellent."
Craig Dunne, who was walking to work at the time of the accident, said: "When I got to the end of the road there was a massive explosion and the crane is obviously in pieces.
BBC News
Police said it appeared the helicopter had hit the crane on top of The Tower, One St George Wharf at about 08:00 GMT.
Sixty firefighters are at the scene near Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth. Doctors said one of the dead was in the helicopter and the other on the ground.
Burning wreckage lay in the road but the fire is now under control.
A man was rescued from a burning car by firefighters.
Four people, one of them critically ill, were taken to hospital. Five others were treated at the scene.
The incident caused gridlock with all approaches to the Vauxhall Cross one way system closed at the height of the rush hour and Vauxhall Tube station and railway station closed.
The fire brigade was also at St George's Wharf to secure the damaged crane.
Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "We believe there are 11 casualties, two fatalities and nine less seriously injured but one is critically ill. People are presenting themselves to different places."
Eyewitness Aaron Rogers: "All of a sudden the helicopter was in flames" (footage Jose Gomez)
London Fire Brigade station manager Bruce Grain said crews arrived at the scene in four minutes.
He said the helicopter crashed into Wandsworth Road hitting various vehicles and bursting into flames and there were also fires in nearby buildings.
He said the fire was under control within 25 minutes but crews would probably be at the scene for the rest of the day damping down.
Vauxhall bus station is always busy. It's a hub where people can connect with the Underground and rail services. Helicopters flying along the river are a common sight.
This morning the rush hour was confused as well as crowded. In the aftermath of the crash, bus and other traffic had been held back on the Wandsworth Road.
It wasn't long before there were tailbacks. The journey wasn't any easier on foot. Pedestrians were directed away from the main road and pavements running along the Nine Elms Sainsbury's supermarket and on to side streets.
By the time I arrived at Vauxhall bus station the police were starting to tape off many of the approach roads as well. You could still smell the smoke and it was difficult to see the top of the tower and the damaged crane.
Commuters mingled with large groups of construction workers - the crowd took time to move despite the efforts of police community support officers and bus station staff.
A lifeboat searched the Thames after a request from London Heliport at Battersea which had lost contact with one of its aircraft, an RNLI spokesman said, but the search was later called off.
Video footage shot on a mobile phone showed an entire road blocked by burning wreckage and aviation fuel.
The side of a building on one side of the street was also damaged by the flames.
Passers-by stood watching as the wreckage burned. A motorcycle was also lying on its side in the road where it was abandoned.
Mark Osbourne, from Metropolis Motorcycles, a bike shop near the scene, said he ran to try and help the injured.
"There was lots of wreckage and fire," he said.
"I saw a woman on a motorcycle that must have missed the carnage by six feet.
"It felt like a war movie, it was surreal.
"The police arrived within minutes so the response was excellent."
Craig Dunne, who was walking to work at the time of the accident, said: "When I got to the end of the road there was a massive explosion and the crane is obviously in pieces.
BBC News
