One man has died after a helicopter plunged into a Wisconsin river after hitting power lines.
The aircraft was went down into the Fox River in Oshkosh, Wisconsin around 12.30pm Saturday.
The helicopter was reportedly taking photos of an annual charity poker run taking place along the river, when it hit electrical wires and fell into the water.
A helicopter crashed into the Fox River in Wisconsin after hitting power lines on Saturday, killing one man, the craft being recovered from the water above
Winnebago County Sheriff’s dive team searched the Fox River in Oshkosh Wisconsin to recover the wreckage and the body
The craft suddenly plunged into the water after hitting power lines that broke off part of its propeller
Traffic on the river was halted as Winnebago County Sheriff officers and divers arrived on the scene to remove the wires from the water and lift the helicopter to the surface.
One photograph of the rescue mission shows the collapsed frame of the aircraft and the broken tail.
One man, suspected to be the pilot, was confirmed dead in the crash, his name has not been released, according to the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Witnesses of the crash say that the helicopter plunged into the water after it struck the wires and part of the propeller broke off.
The helicopter, above, was filmed above a boat just 30 minutes before the crash
It fell in Oshkosh, Wisconsin into the Fox River, halting boat traffic for hours
Police closed down the area as their recovered the wreckage and the body after the crash
Gary Lemiesz, watched the crash unfold and said ‘it hit hard and sunk’.
Witness Jake Vande Voort shared video of the helicopter just 30 minutes prior to the crash where it flies above a boat speeding below it, according to ABC2.
A man named Isaac Jansen told ABC2 the craft had just re-fueled at Wittman Regional Airport and was en route to pick him up when it crashed into the wires.
The crash happened as the waterfront was full of boaters participating in the Lake Winnebago Four Horsemen Poker Run.
Boat traffic on the river near the crash site was stopped for hours while authorities carried out the search.
It is the second helicopter crash in Wisconsin this year. Three people died in April when a medical helicopter crashed near Hazelhurst, in the northern part of the state.