Chopper crash in Philippine city

At least eight people died and three were injured when an air force helicopter crashed into a city in the central Philippines, police said.

The UH-1H "Huey" helicopter crashed into a busy street in the Pajo district of Lapu-Lapu on the island of Mactan.

The dead included seven passengers in two motorcycle taxis and a member of the helicopter's crew.

A radio reporter at the scene told how the helicopter's rotors "chopped up" a taxi and maimed those travelling in it.

Witnesses said the aircraft was tangled in power lines before going down in an area where taxis were stopping.

It also severed electric power lines, causing a black-out in the area, reports said.

Air force wing commander Colonel Butch Lacson said the aircraft had been returning from a training flight when the incident occurred.

The cause of the crash was still being investigated and all the air force's UH-1H helicopters have been grounded after the incident, Col Lacson said.

The Philippine air force has suffered a number of aircraft crashes in recent years.

Last December, an air force MG-520 helicopter gunship went down in the southern Philippines, injuring two people on board.

In April 2005 a military helicopter crash killed four government scientists and a senior governor from the Red Cross.