Helicopter Crashes in Downtown Seattle, Killing 2, Injuring at Least 1 [UPDATED]

UPDATE 2:30 P.M. EST: KOMO has identified the two people killed in the crash: the helicopter's pilot, Gary Pfitzner, and a freelance photographer, Bill Strothman, who was also onboard.

UPDATE 11:45 A.M. EST: Apparently the helicopter had just begun to take off at about 7:40 a.m. local time, when it slid off the roof of the news station and landed on three cars below, exploding immediately upon impact.

A helicopter belonging to Seattle news station KOMO-4 crashed on Tuesday morning close to Fisher Plaza, near the famed Space Needle. Early reports indicate that two people were killed in the crash.

Firefighters now have the situation under control, but one person did suffer some burns when the chopper landed on a car, according to KOMO reporter Kelly Koopmans. The man, a 38-year-old, pulled himself out of his car, according to the Seattle Fire Department. He was taken straight to the hospital. Two other nearby cars were also hit. The helicopter itself is almost completely destroyed.

KIRO-7 has live-streaming coverage here.

We will update this post as further information comes in.