2 killed in Utah helicopter crash

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two men were killed when a helicopter crashed Tuesday into an empty industrial building near Salt Lake City, police said.

The small helicopter hit the roof of a two-story building about 2 p.m. in an industrial area in North Salt Lake, police chief Craig Black said. The building was empty and no one on the ground was hurt.

Police identified the victims Tuesday evening as Claus Hauer and Bruce Orr, according to CBS affiliate KUTV.

Ardian Fazliu, who works nearby, said he saw the helicopter break into two pieces in midair before the front section nosedived into the building.

"I turned around and heard 'pop' two times. Big noise. Then I saw it in two pieces," he said. "It was pretty scary."

"It was 100, 200 feet up in the air. I noticed a lot of smoke, and next thing I know a big explosion," witness Vartkes Megerdichian told KUTV. "Lost the back part of the helicopter, turned toward its right, blaze going everywhere, parts flying around."

James Sedgwick said he heard the explosion while inside his work and immediately knew it was an aircraft.

"I just heard a big, 'thump, thump, thump, boom!'" Sedgwick said. "I opened up the door, and everything was falling."

Officials believe the helicopter took off from a small airport just north of the building.

When firefighters arrived, the helicopter was in flames, and two people were trapped inside, said Dave Powers, deputy fire chief for South Davis Metro Fire. Rescuers were able to remove one person from the wreckage and tried to resuscitate him, but he and the other victim were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Black said. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Debris from the crash was scattered as far as a half-mile away from the crash site.