5 Killed After Sightseeing Helicopter Crashes in the Smoky Mountains

Officials say there was not much left of a tourist helicopter carrying five people that crashed in the Smoky Mountains.

Five people were killed Monday in the fiery crash of tourist helicopter in the Smoky Mountains, authorities said.

The Bell 206 sightseeing helicopter went down in a wooded area of east Tennessee and burst into flames. All on board perished.

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Smoke can be seen in the area where aircraft reportedly went down in Sevier County. pic.twitter.com/HFVEebq0od

— Local 8 News (@wvlt) April 4, 2016

 

"There's just a small piece of the tail wing and that's about what's left of the helicopter," said Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin. 

"There's not much left," he told CBS affiliate WVLT-TV. "This is the worst one that I've ever seen," he said of the crash, which "created a major forest fire," he said.

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Smoky Mountain Helicopters, which offers tours of the areas, confirmed one of their vessels was involved in the crash, the station reported.

The names of the victims had not been released as of Tuesday night, and the cause of the crash was under investigation.

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