2 dead after rescue helicopter crashes in Florida

Washington, Aug 29

Two people were killed and four others were injured after a fire rescue helicopter crashed into an apartment complex near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police said.

US authorities identified the dead as Broward County Sheriff Fire Rescue Captain Terryson Jackson, 50, who was in the helicopter, and an unnamed woman who lived in the apartment building, Xinhua news agency reported.

The crash occurred at approximately 8:46 a.m. local time on Monday near an airfield just north of Fort Lauderdale when the helicopter was on its way to an aircraft alert, the Broward County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

The four wounded, including two firefighters on board and two residents, were taken to hospital without life-threatening injuries, local police said.

Video footage posted on social media showed grey smoke billowing into the air from the apartment building and firefighters blasting water into the complex, which has a large hole in its roof.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the agency and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the crash.