New Covent Garden Flower Market was evacuated and one person was taken to hospital with minor injuries after a helicopter crash on Wednesday morning.
The helicopter hit a crane at nearby St George’s Wharf on the south bank of the Thames in the Vauxhall area of London, close to FPJ’s offices. Debris falling from the aircraft onto the market site below caused light leg injuries to one man. The helicopter crash-landed onto Wandsworth Road onto two cars, setting them on fire.
Two people were killed and nine injured in the accident, with the pilot, Pete Barnes, 50, understood to be the only person on board the helicopter.
Matthew Wood, 39, an administrative team leader for Rentokil for the past 10 years, also died after being hit by debris of the fuselage while on his way to work at its offices nearby.
An eyewitness, who saw the helicopter crash while on the train to work, told FPJ: 'A woman screamed on the train as she thought it was going to land on us. The helicopter hit the tower and then nose dived towards Wandsworth Road where it exploded; it was shocking to see.'
Helen Evans of Covent Garden Market Authority told FPJ: “Our main concern has been for the injured people and getting them to hospital. Police evacuated the flower market. Trading had pretty much finished for the day.”
Evans said the flower market was being treated as a crime scene and would remain closed until the Civil Aviation Authority had retrieved the debris. It was unclear how long this would take.
The fruit and vegetable market was still open and there was acccess via the main entrance on Wednesday. However the Vauxhall entrance was closed.
“The evacuation went very smoothly,” said Evans. “The only people acting stupidly were journalists climbing the walls to get a shot of the scene.”
Evans added that despite the interruption to trading there was a sense of relief that more damage and injuries had not been sustained. “In the overall scheme of things it’s extraordinary more people weren’t injured.”
Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey said the crash should lead to a review of helicopter flights over the capital. “You just have to think how dreadful it would have been had the helicopter landed on the huge apartments at the side of the road. We could have been facing a catastrophe,” she told BBC News.
Hoey added she had opposed the building of the 22-storey St George development. “We do need to recognise that having a different skyline in London means that things may have to be different about who can go where. The regulations are very clear about helicopters not to be flown less than 500ft from structures.”
