Two people were killed when a helicopter smashed into a crane at a building site in central London. Source: AAP
TWO people have been killed when a helicopter hit a crane at a building site in central London during morning rush hour and plunged to the ground in a ball of flames, with an Australian and two workmen recounting how they escaped injury.
The crash happened at 8am (1900 AEDT) on Wednesday near Vauxhall Station when an AgustaWestland 109 Power hit a high-rise crane at The Tower, One St George Wharf, one of Europe's largest skyscrapers.
Stunt pilot Barnes, 50, who has piloted helicopters for movies such as Die Another Day, was alone in the aircraft amid thick cloud when it clipped the crane. It came down on land near to the building, with burning wreckage strewn across the road.
Barnes died in the crash.
A second man who died in the accident was named by Scotland Yard on Wednesday night as Matthew Wood, 39, who is believed to have been walking to work when he was killed.
Twelve other people were injured and police said it was a "miracle" more were not hurt when the helicopter fell to the busy rush-hour streets.
The helicopter was undertaking a commercial flight from Redhill, Surrey, to Elstree, Hertfordshire, but Barnes asked to be diverted to Battersea heliport because of bad weather.
Witnesses described hearing a loud bang and a flash of light as the twin-engine aircraft crashed near Wandsworth Road. Video footage and photos flooded on to social media sites revealing chaotic scenes, burning wreckage and vehicles charred by flames.
Australian Patrick Gartland was cycling to work at the time. He told Sky News that he and another cyclist took cover in a nearby bus shelter for up to 15 minutes as debris rained down.
"The helicopter was ablaze to the right of us," said the former Melbourne resident who moved to UK seven years ago.
"Watching the helicopter cartwheel down and the first realisation there's people in the helicopter and they're not going to survive," Gartland said, relaying what went through his mind during the ordeal.
"And then you watch the helicopter crash and explode and then you're snapped back into reality with construction workers yelling for people to take cover and you realise 'I need to get away from this and protect my own safety."
Two workmen who should have been in the crane that was hit by a helicopter in central London escaped death by minutes because they overslept.
Richard Moule and Nicki Biagioni were late for work and hurrying to climb the crane when the helicopter clipped the structure.
Moule, 31, a father of two from Harlow, Essex, was supposed to be at work at 7am with his colleague Biagioni, 30, but both were late, the Daily Mail said.
"It was the first time I've been late since starting this job three years ago. I just woke up late. Call it divine intervention if you like," Moule told the newspaper.
He said he was in the building's basement ready to go up when the accident happened and he was evacuated. He said: "The first thing I did was call my wife Stephanie and tell her, 'You'll be hearing about this but I'm OK.'"
Biagioni, from Essex, was late because his four-year-old son, who usually wakes him up, slept in, The Sun said.
His wife Leanna told the paper he phoned her to say he should be dead. She said: "Nicki was at the site minutes before it happened. He gets a lift to a certain level and then climbs a ladder the rest of the way.
"If he'd been climbing he would have died from the fall for certain. It's too horrible to think about."
Traffic chaos ensued in the wake of the incident as several roads were partially closed, with Vauxhall's underground, railway and bus stations closed for a short time.
Residents from nearby houses in Lambeth and Wandsworth were not allowed to return home on Wednesday night after debris was scattered over a large area, including on rooftops. The situation would be reviewed at midday on Thursday, a police spokesman added.
In the aftermath of the crash, questions were raised over the safety of aircraft flying over London, especially as the number of high-rise blocks being built increases. But sources said lights fitted to the crane were in place and were checked twice daily - including on Tuesday.
Commander Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police said: "It was something of a miracle that this was not many, many times worse."
The eight-seater helicopter is owned by Cornwall-based Castle Air but was leased to another firm RotorMotion, which is based at Redhill Aerodrome.
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