Four killed in Canada helicopter crash

Ottawa: Four people were killed when a helicopter crashed in a residential area in western Canada's British Columbia province, media agencies reported on Wednesday.

All three people on board the chopper died, including two passengers and the pilot. A pedestrian on the ground was also killed, Canadian Television quoted the Transportation Safety Board(TSB) as saying.

The accident happened in Cranbrook, a small community about 840km east of Vancouver. It went down in a residential neighborhood and burst into flames.

Witness Richard Fairchild said that the chopper had barely cleared a large pine tree and "within a second-and-a-half it crashed right in front of us - literally in front of our window."

"Unfortunately, the helicopter hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk," Fairchild said, adding the helicopter's fuel then burst into flames.

An official of the TSB said the craft is a Bell helicopter Model 206.