A helicopter crashed into a construction crane atop a new luxury residential building in thick London fog Wednesday, killing the pilot and another person and sparking a line of flames as it plunged to the ground.

Thirteen others were injured in the crash that took place near a busy intersection at the height of the morning rush hour in Vauxhall, south of the River Thames in central London.

Thick smoke and flames billowed into the sky as traffic ground to a halt and emergency workers rushed to the scene, not far from landmarks like the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.

The bent crane dangled from the building top, prompting police to cordon off roads in the area and evacuate residents and office workers. Many watched, horrified, from the street and office windows as the drama unfolded.

"I was standing outside having a cigarette when I saw the helicopter flying super fast towards the crane," said Rezart Islami, a builder who was working across the road from the 52-story building. "The pilot appeared not to have seen the crane because the helicopter hit it and went bang."

Islami said the rotor blade snapped off, and the copter spun to the ground and burst into flames.

"The top off the crane also came off in the impact," he said. "It all happened so fast, it was unbelievable."

Another eyewitness recounted seeing rescuers pull three injured people from two burning cars.

"It is something of a miracle that this was not many, many times worse given the time of day," said police commander Neil Basu.

Vauxhall, not far from Westminster, is where a new U.S. Embassy is being built. The area, which is a mix of industrial, business and residential use, is also home to the riverside headquarters of the UK intelligence service, MI6.

Rotormotion, a helicopter charter company, identified the pilot as Peter Barnes, 50, a married father of two.

"He was one of the most highly qualified and highly skilled helicopter pilots in the UK, and his death is a great loss for the British aviation and his colleagues at Rotormotion," spokesman Paul Blezard said. "The thoughts of all the staff are with this family and two young children at this dreadful time."

Barnes was the only person on board the helicopter, which was on a scheduled commercial flight from Surrey, southwest of London, police said.

The second person killed "was in close proximity" to the helicopter, a London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said, but gave no more details.

One of the injured was treated for a broken leg, but emergency responders said the others were not seriously hurt.

Construction workers were at the site when the crash happened but were not hurt.

James Whipps, a CNN producer, said the helicopter wreckage appeared to have landed on two cars by St. George Wharf, a major residential construction project.

The St. George Wharf construction project includes the landmark St. George Wharf Tower, also known as the Vauxhall Tower. Its developers, the Berkeley Group, say it will be one of Europe's tallest residential towers.

Whipps said he heard the sound of the helicopter rotors suddenly cut out.

He did not see the impact, but as he looked though a window, he "suddenly saw this enormous fireball, black smoke, shoot up from the side of a building."