Helicopter crash kills two people, shuts Mississippi River, Coast Guard says

Two people died Thursday after a helicopter crashed into a barge on the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois, shutting the waterway to traffic, the US Coast Guard said.

Preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicated the MD 369 helicopter struck power lines before crashing.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed two people were aboard at the time of the crash. The NTSB will lead the investigation, with an investigator expected to arrive on site Friday.

Power company Ameren Corp said contractors were repairing and replacing tower lighting and marker balls on transmission lines in the area. “We are saddened about today’s tragic incident,” Ameren said, adding it would cooperate with investigators.

No one was aboard the barge, which caught fire after the crash, Coast Guard spokesperson Jonathan Lindberg said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The river, a vital shipping route for crops and other goods, was closed from mile marker 199 to mile marker 201. Lindberg said there was no estimate yet for when it would reopen.

Alton is located downriver from the Mississippi’s confluence with the Illinois River, and the closure could delay barges transporting grain from Midwestern farms to the US Gulf ports.

Read more: Three men who went missing while fishing and swimming in Mississippi River found dead