An air ambulance helicopter crashed in upstate New York on Tuesday afternoon, killing two people.
The Mercy Flight helicopter was on a training mission and dropped from the air around 1pm in the town of Elba, according to New York State Police.
‘At this point we don’t know why the helicopter went down, police Troop Cmdr Major Eugene Staniszewski said during a news conference close to the crash site.
Images from the scene showed the helicopter crash landed steps away from Norton Road. Smoke could be seen billowing from the aircraft as first responders swarmed the site.
The helicopter apparently departed from Mercy Flight’s facility in Batavia 3.5 miles away from where it crashed. It reportedly hit power lines as it fell, but the power lines are not believed to have caused the accident, Staniszewski said.
Officers did not know where the helicopter was going.
Authorities have not released the identities of the two people who died. they did not immediately disclose whether other people were injured and if a patient was on the flight.
Troopers and first responders were likely to continue the investigation overnight, Staniszewski said.
Elba is a rural town with about 2,000 residents, situated between Buffalo and Rochester.
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