The crash took place at about 9 p.m. in Hartford, about 30 minutes north of St. Louis, affiliate KDSK reported
A medical helicopter in southeastern Illinois crashed Thursday evening, leaving all three members on board hospitalized and photos showing a completely destroyed copter.
According to posts from Hartford Police Department and medical helicopter company Air Methods, an ARCH Air Medical Service helicopter from Granite City was involved an an “incident” as they were departing from a local fire station.
The three crew members on board were transported to nearby hospitals for evaluation, authorities said, and an investigation was underway.
Earlier in the day, the Hartford Fire Department advised residents to be aware that it was hosting a training exercise for an ARCH Medical helicopter.
“Helicopters can be very dangerous and this is one of the reasons for the training,” a post about the exercise from the fire department said.
Photos and video from the scene showed a mangled and crashed helicopter, with debris across the ground, with emergency responders surrounding the area.
