June 10 (UPI) — A helicopter hit electric high-voltage power lines and sank into a river, killing one man in Oshkosh, Wis., authorities said.
About 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the Robinson R-44 crashed in the Fox River, the
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office said in a report by WISN-TV. Oshkosh is 70 miles north of Milwaukee.
The Winnebago County coroner said the victim is believed to be the pilot.
The body was recovered aorund 7 p.m. after the power was turned off and divers went into the water.
“It was horrifying to watch,” said Brody Snood, a witness, told WITI-TV. “I was blank-minded. I was like ‘Oh my God, someone just died.’ … It was like a movie scene
Witnesses told the Oshkosh Northwestern the helicopter went down just west of the Jackson Street bridge and quickly sank.
“Other than it is a helicopter, we don’t know where it came from or anything else at this point,” Winnebago County Sheriff’s Capt. Lara Vendola-Messer said in a news conference.
And after power lines were restrung, the Fox River was open to boat traffic, the sheriff’s office posted on Twitter late Saturday.