ALTON, Ill. — Two people were killed when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois, north of St. Louis.

The helicopter hit transmission lines over the Mississippi River and hit the barge around 11:05 a.m. The barge then caught fire, WDAF reported.

Two people on board the helicopter died, officials said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said that those on the helicopter were working on power lines near the orange spherical aviation markers, KSDK reported. The helicopter apparently hit a power wire, knocking it into the river. The helicopter tried to land on the barge, state troopers said.

An eyewitness told KSDK, “The helicopter, all of a sudden, touched the power line and in two seconds, it wasn’t a helicopter anymore, it was a thousand pieces. All you saw was a fiery ball that came across the river and landed on the Missouri-side barge.”

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