Helicopter crash takes two life and left several others injured in central London

2 people were killed and 13 injured when a Helicopter hit a construction ceane in Vauxhall central London scattering metals on early morning commuters before exploding into fireball.

The twin-engine private helicopter was stricken in low cloud and freezing temperatures above the construction site of the 51-storey Vauxhall Tower just before 8am, smashing into the top of the building's main crane and shearing off the jib before spiralling on to Nine Elms Lane and bursting into flames.

The pilot, Captain Pete Barnes, died at the scene along with Matthew Wood, 39, from Sutton in south London. Barnes, 50, from Mortimer, Berkshire, was flying from Redhill, Surrey, to Elstree, Hertfordshire, to pick up a client and had radioed air traffic control for a change of routeafter hitting bad weather. He was hoping to land at London heliport in Battersea.

It is not known if he even saw the new 235-metre (770ft) crane, which was in and out of low cloud throughout the morning. National Air Traffic Control issued a warning to airmen about the crane last week. Witnesses reported that the top of the crane was shrouded in cloud and the helicopter appeared to swerve at the last minute to try to avoid it.

As shocked construction workers at the foot of the tower told of panic among commuters who scrambled to avoid falling debris as the helicopter came down, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch launched an immediate inquiry into what is thought to be the first fatal helicopter crash in central London. The prime minister told MPs: "The rules for helicopter flights and other flights over our capital city will be looked at as part of the investigations." The inquiry will examine the helicopter's route, the warning light system on the crane and building, the role of bad weather, and the possibility of mechanical or pilot error.