Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, north of St. Louis, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Two people have been killed after a helicopter crashed into a boat on the Mississippi River. The crash triggered a fire that sent large black plumes of smoke into the air. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the incident happened when the helicopter became entangled with electrical cables.