A helicopter from the Hawaii tour crashes, killing 3 people

HONOLULU – A fire and helicopter gunships rained Monday in a community on the outskirts of Honolulu, as a touring helicopter crashes and killed three people on board, officials said. witnesses.

"All you could see was fire," said witness Melissa Solomon, explaining that she was driving down the street when she looked up to see the flames and a helicopter collapse in front of her on a two-lane road in the middle of the houses.

Ambulance attendants who answer an unrelated call from a patient with leg pain at about 30 meters heard "a horrible report," said Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman for emergency medical services from Honolulu. When they turned around, they saw a helicopter on fire.

"When they arrived, the neighbors did a heroic job trying to extinguish the fire and trying to get the patients away from the burning plane," said Enright.

The accident occurred in Kailua, a city of 50,000 residents located about 30 minutes drive from downtown Honolulu.

Megan Lacy of Alabama was visiting friends when they heard the crash. They went outside, waiting to find two cars after being hit.

"We were really confused," she said. "And then we heard screaming and the word" fire "and I saw smoke."

Debris damaged his rental car about 100 meters from the scene.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency thought three people were on board the four-seater Robinson R44 aircraft.

He said that the circumstances of the accident were unknown.

The helicopter, built in 2000, is registered with the United Helicopter Leasing LLC of Honolulu, according to FAA records.

Kailua is home to a Marine Corps base. In recent years, tourists have gone to the beach, go hiking and go shopping.

Former President Barack Obama has stayed in a rented beachfront vacation home in the city during the winter holidays while he was at the White House.