2 killed when copter crashes in Idaho downtown

KAMIAH, Idaho (AP) — Two people were killed and another was injured when a helicopter chartered by the Department of Fish and Game crashed today in downtown Kamiah, authorities said.

The helicopter and its pilot had been hired through a private company, and two Fish and Game biologists were on board conducting fisheries surveys, said Robert Hand of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Hand didn’t have any further details but said the department would be issuing a statement.

Lewis County public information officer Jeanette Dreadfulwater said the sheriff’s office was investigating.

Mick Landmark said the helicopter looked like it clipped the eaves of a U.S. Forest Service-owned house before colliding with a parked travel trailer about a block from his downtown insurance office.

Kelly Drover, deputy city clerk, was working at City Hall when the crash occurred. She ran to see what happened.

“The helicopter just kind of disintegrated,” Drover said.

Two men and a woman were inside the helicopter, Landmark said.

Emergency crews performed CPR on two of them before pronouncing them dead, he said. The third person was taken by ambulance to a hospital.