The chopper crew is believed to have been working on power lines when it crashed into one of them and then hit the barge below. Large plumes of smoke and an explosion were captured on camera in the incident that killed two.

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.

Emergency officials were responding to a helicopter crash in a section of the Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois.