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A pilot is dead after a helicopter crash-landed atop a high-rise building in New York City’s Midtown neighborhood on Monday afternoon, PEOPLE confirms.
The aircraft made a “hard landing” on the roof of the 51-story AXA Equitable Building, after which a fire was extinguished, authorities with the New York Police Departmenttweeted.
The pilot was the only person on the aircraft, an NYPD source tells PEOPLE.
The crash was reported around 2 p.m. at 787 7th Avenue at 51st Street, according toWNBC. The building was then evacuated.
Hours after the incident, the New York City Fire Department tweeted images of the scene, showing broken and burned helicopter parts scattered atop the building.
“The only indication was a helicopter had to do an emergency or a hard landing, or crashed onto the rooftop of a building,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a Monday news conference. “There’s no indication of anything more than that.”
787 Seventh Avenue.
Cuomo added,according to NBC News: “If you’re a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD from 9/11 and I remember that morning all too well. So as soon as you hear an aircraft hit a building, I think my mind goes where every New Yorker’s goes.”
The New York City Fire Department said it was sending more than 100 emergency workers to the scene. As footage showed authorities blocking off roads and fire trucks and police vehicles surrounding the building, police urged the publicto avoid the area“due to an ongoing police investigation.”
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty
PresidentDonald Trumppraised first responders in a tweet, writing in part, “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.”
source: people.com
