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One person has died after a helicopter crashed on top of a skyscraper in Manhattan, New York‘s fire department has said.
The pilot of the helicopter was killed after it crashed on the roof of a 54-storey office building in rainy weather shortly before 2pm local time (8pm GMT).
Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the area around Seventh Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets, not far from Times Square and Rockefeller Centre.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, told reporters that it appeared a helicopter attempted a forced emergency landing on the roof and that no one inside the building had been injured.
The Federal Aviation Administration said that “preliminary information is that only the pilot was on board” the Agusta A109E helicopter.
A fire that broke out following the crash was quickly brought under control, Mr Cuomo said. “People who were in the building said they felt the building shake,” he said.
Manhattan Helicopter Crash – In Pictures
A police official described the incident as a “hard landing.’’
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) said it had sent more than 100 emergency workers to the scene.
Shauna Farrell, who was working on the 36th floor when the crash happened, said she and her colleagues started running for the emergency exits after feeling the impact.
She told ABC News: “We ran down. I think we were the first floor to evacuate, actually, because we felt it so quickly.
“There was already FDNY on the scene. We were kind of just running away from the building as quickly as we could.”
A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration said: “An Agusta A109E helicopter crashed on the roof of 787 Seventh Avenue at around 1.40pm today.
“Preliminary information is that only the pilot was aboard. FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight.
“The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will determine probable cause of the accident.
“We will release the aircraft registration after NYC officials release the pilot’s name.”
President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he had been briefed on the crash, and first responders on the scene did a “phenomenal job”.
Authorities said the helicopter took off from a pad on the East River and was in the air for about 11 minutes before it crashed.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said it may have been heading to its home airport in Linden, New Jersey.
