Two South Koreans killed in Gangnam helicopter crash

South Korean rescue workers search the wreckage of a helicopter after it crashed into a high-rise apartment leaving two pilots dead in Seoul's Gangnam district, on Nov 16, 2013. The private helicopter collided with several homes near the top of the 3
South Korean rescue workers search the wreckage of a helicopter after it crashed into a high-rise apartment leaving two pilots dead in Seoul's Gangnam district, on Nov 16, 2013. The private helicopter collided with several homes near the top of the 30-story apartment building before plunging to the ground. --PHOTO: AFP
A damaged high-rise aparment is seen after a crash by a helicopter in Seoul's Gangnam district, on Nov 16, 2013. The private helicopter collided with several homes near the top of the 30-story apartment building before plunging to the ground. -- PHOTO: AFP

SEOUL (AFP) - A South Korean helicopter on Saturday crashed into a high-rise apartment block in Seoul's posh Gangnam district, leaving two pilots dead, rescue workers said.

The private helicopter hit several apartments near the top of the 30-storey building before plunging to the ground, said the National Emergency Management Agency.

Two pilots - the sole passengers of the aircraft owned by LG Electronics - were found dead. No residents of the building were killed or injured, an agency official told AFP.

"It appears that the pilots lost visual due to extremely foggy weather," said the official who declined to be named.

The helicopter was set to pick up an LG executive in Gangnam for a business trip to the southern city of Jeonju, Jeon Myeong-Wu, LG's PR executive said in an interview with the YTN news channel.

TV news footage showed windows broken and walls collapsed at the luxury apartment block and the crumpled wreckage of the helicopter with the LG logo.

Hundreds of police officers, rescue workers and soldiers have been deployed to help clear the wreckage and evacuate residents after the rare accident.

The upscale district of the South's capital - home to high-end shopping malls and million-dollar apartments - was made famous by last year's global hit song "Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy.

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