SEVIERVILLE, TENNESSEE, United States (Reuters) – Five people were killed on Monday (April 4) when a sightseeing helicopter crashed and burned in a Smoky Mountains area of eastern Tennessee, authorities said.
No one on the ground was injured in the crash, said Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener. He confirmed that five people were killed, but had no further information on the incident.
The owner of Smoky Mountain Helicopters said the crash occurred in Sevier County, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) east of Nashville, local TV station WVLT reported.
“The wind blowing like this is creating a lot more for the fire to burn,” Jack Baldwin, the chief of police in Pigeon Forge told reporters. “I mean, most of the helicopter has been consumed by the fire. So there’s not much there.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said local authorities notified them that a Bell 206 sightseeing helicopter crashed near Sevierville at 3:30 p.m. (2030 GMT). The helicopter was destroyed by fire, local authorities told the FAA.
The FAA did not have details on fatalities and was awaiting information from the scene.
The helicopter company has been offering sightseeing flights of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas since 1964, according to its website.
