News Helicopters Collide Over Forest Fire, Crash

Two news helicopters covering a forest fire collided, crashed and burned Saturday morning, killing all six people aboard, officials said.

The accident occurred at 5:42 a.m. near the Chikuma River within the boundaries of the city of Nagano, 112 miles northwest of Tokyo, said Hiroto Suzuki of the Nagano Prefectural Police.

Suzuki said of the six killed, two were aboard a helicopter used by Nagano Broadcasting Systems, while four were on board one used by T.V. Shinshu Broadcasting.