Horror footage shows moment two members of rescue crew escape burning helicopter
Horrifying footage captures the moment two men managed to escape the wreckage of a burning helicopter that had just plunged into a residential building, killing two.
Pilot Daron Roche, 37, and firefighter paramedic Mikael Chaguaceda, 31, escaped from the Airbus EC-135-T1, a Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Fire Rescue helicopter when it crashed In Pompano Beach, Florida, yesterday.
The footage, obtained from bystander Jared Liverpool by CBS Miami, shows the moment the two men can be seen climbing out of the wreckage and onto the roof as black smoke billows around them. Red-hot flames and a huge gaping hole were shown in the apartment complex after the crash.
"That s**t blew my mind," Liverpool said, adding: "My heart was just racing, there was a lot going on at the moment. I just felt many emotions. I was scared, nervous."
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Pilot Daron Roche, 37, and firefighter paramedic Mikael Chaguaceda, 31 during their dramatic escape (CBS News)
The horror crash killed two (CBS News)He continued: "Surprisingly, the two men in their uniforms didn’t look like they had any injuries on them at all. One of them said that their ribs were broken probably, but they seemed fine...
"They struggled a bit climbing up the roof but they got down, a police officer was asking them if they were OK, if they needed any help. They were taken to the hospital in fair condition."
Four people were injured and two were killed in the incident when the BSO aircraft went down shortly after experiencing mechanical problems.
Further footage shows smoke coming from the tail of the helicopter before it breaks and folds inwards, causing the aircraft to go into a tailspin and plummet to the ground.
The crash left a gaping hole in a residential building (Local10)One of the two people killed has been named as fire and rescue Captain Terryson Jackson. Jackson, 49, and a woman died when the Broward Sheriff's Office helicopter crashed through the complex's roof after taking off from Pompano Beach Airpark at about 8.45am, Sheriff Gregory Tony said. He said the four injured were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive.
"He was trapped and could not get out," Sheriff Tony said of Jackson in a press conference. The sheriff paused briefly when reading Jackson's name, clearly tearful, and revealed he knew the firefighter personally. "This tragedy is really going to challenge us as a community," he added.
'Terryson was a rockstar,' Sheriff Tony said (AP)"Terryson was a rockstar. He was one of the best of us, one of the brightest. He bled this profession inside and out. The type of effort and commitment he had for this community... impeccable."
The BSO team was called to an incident involving a woman and a child in Fort Lauderdale nearby. It was confirmed that the team was able to contact the local fire department and inform them the aircraft was in distress and that they would need to respond to the call. A nearby airport was also contacted so the flight path close to it could be cleared.
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