Florida, Nov 5 (IANS) A helicopter crashed into the waters of Biscayne Bay near Miami, in the US state of Florida, leaving one person dead and two others injured, authorities said.
The helicopter, which was carrying three people, crashed east of Miami Executive Airport on Wednesday morning (local time), the US Coast Guard said.
Emergency personnel from the US Coast Guard, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department and other local agencies responded to the scene after the crash, Xinhua news agency reported.
Preliminary information indicated that the Robinson R44 II helicopter appeared to have been conducting a photography flight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The investigation is ongoing, the NTSB said.
Further details are awaited.
Earlier on November 1, nine people aboard a Learjet 60 were killed when the business jet crashed into a residential area in Florida’s Palm Beach County.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the toll from an accident that left a crater beside a road and forced authorities to arrange shelter for hundreds of residents.
The aircraft crashed near Cresthaven at about 12:50 p.m. local time on November 1, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It had departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas.
The Learjet came down near Military Trail, between Cresthaven Boulevard and 10th Avenue North. Images from local television coverage showed a large fire, heavy smoke and debris scattered around the road and adjacent residential community.
“All 9 people on board were killed,” Duffy wrote on X. He called the crash a “horrific tragedy” and said the FAA was sending personnel to support the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which will lead the investigation.
Duffy asked the public to remember the victims’ families and said the two federal agencies were monitoring developments.
–IANS
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