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Two helicopters crashed in New Jersey in what federal authorities say was a midair collision that killed one person and critically injured another.
Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. on Sunday, and police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft.
One person was killed and another was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Video from the scene showed a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground.
Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 56 kilometres southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 405,000 hectares.
The FAA and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will be investigating the crash, Friel said.