HOUSTON – Authorities are looking into what caused a helicopter to crash into a radio tower Sunday evening in Houston, killing four people, including a child, News4JAX sister station KPRC reported.
The Houston Fire Department said the crash happened at about 7:54 p.m. at Engelke and Ennis streets.
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Houston Mayor John Whitmire said HFD Station 17 was right down the street from where the helicopter hit a radio tower and was at the scene within minutes.
“This is a tragic event tonight. It’s a tragic loss of life,” Whitmire said.
According to Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz, the helicopter had taken off from Ellington Field and was headed to an unknown destination when it crashed.
Houston City Councilmember for District H, Mario Castillo, says the helicopter was a private touring helicopter.
HPD confirmed Monday morning that four people, including a child, are believed to have been on the helicopter that crashed.
“We don’t know the age ranges yet, but that we are pretty sure,” Diaz said.
No one on the ground was hurt from the crash and the collapse of the tower. No structures on the ground other than the tower were damaged.
“We were very fortunate it didn’t topple one way or the other,” Whitmire said.
The resulting fire from the crash burned about 100-200 yards of grass in the immediate area of the tower. It has since been extinguished.
The people killed in the crash have not yet been identified.
“My prayers are with the families of the people in the helicopter,” Chief Diaz said.
The FAA, NTSB, DPS, HPD, and HFD are all investigating the crash.
Authorities say there may be pieces of the helicopter that people find when the sun comes up in the morning. They are asking anyone who may come across these pieces not to touch them and to contact police or firefighters so they can come retrieve them.