KNXV KTVK channel 3 phoenix news TV helicopter crash

Deaths in US TV helicopter crash

Four people have died after their helicopters, owned by rival US television channels, collided in mid-air while covering a car chase.

Both helicopters went down in a park in central Phoenix, Arizona, and caught fire as they were covering the police pursuit of a pick-up truck.

It is thought that all those on board each aircraft were killed.

Within moments of the crash, other TV stations with helicopters began reporting news of the tragedy.

KNXV news reporter Craig Smith, who died in the collision, was reporting on a car chase in which the driver being pursued was hitting cars and driving on the pavement.