2 Die as TV Helicopter Crashes in Seattle

Two people have died after a KOMO-TV helicopter crashed in downtown Seattle near the Space Needle. Eyewitnesses say the copter crashed as it was trying to take off from Fisher Plaza, the home of KOMO-TV.

Two cars and a pickup truck on Broad Street were struck in the crash. Occupants of two vehicles were able to escape without injury, but the driver of a third vehicle was badly burned.

The helicopter exploded into flames on impact. Huge plumes of black smoke poured from the blazing wreckage, about 50 yards from the base of the Space Needle.

A Seattle fire department spokesman says two bodies were found dead in the wreckage.

Their identities have not been released and the crash is being investigated by the FAA and NTSB.

Fire crews were able to extinguish the flames in a half hour, KOMO-TV reports. One man who was seen running from one of the cars with his sleeve on fire was extinguished by responders.