Two officers killed as Atlanta police helicopter crashes amid search for missing child

ATLANTA—A police helicopter flying low on a nighttime search for a missing 9-year-old child crashed near a major Atlanta intersection overnight, killing the two officers aboard on impact, authorities said early Sunday.

Police spokesman Carlos Campos confirmed the deaths and said no one was hurt on the ground in an area blocks from a busy east-west artery, Interstate 20, and in a neighbourhood populated by fast food restaurants, stores, a major pharmacy and a light rail commuter station. A police statement said the helicopter plunged to the ground about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Photographers aired on local television soon after the crash showed flaming debris in a roadway. Emergency vehicles with their lights flashing rushed to the area little more than 4 miles west of downtown Atlanta. The names of the dead were being held while relatives were being notified, police said. .................(more)

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