Helicopter crashes into barge on Mississippi River near St. Louis, killing 2 people

Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, north of St. Louis, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed that the two people inside the aircraft were killed and that there were no other reported injuries. The state patrol said no one was on the barge when the crash happened.

The river was closed to commercial navigation following the crash.

The helicopter ran into a powerline and crashed around 11 a.m. Thursday on the Mississippi River about a half-mile downriver from the Alton Dam, said Rivers Pointe Fire District Chief Rick Pender.

Video provided to CBS affiliate KMOV-TV by witness Adam Briggs shows a black plume of smoke rising up from the barge.

This image provided by Adam Briggs shows smoke fill the air from a barge after a helicopter crash in the Mississippi River near Alton, Ill., on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.Adam Briggs via AP

Fire, emergency medical and law enforcement personnel responded to the crash, and federal agencies were on the way, Pender said. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

The Illinois State Police Department said the Lewis and Clark Bridge coming into Illinois will be closed for an undetermined amount of time, KMOV reported.

East Alton is about 20 miles north of St. Louis.