Austria air collision kills eight

The crash happened late morning in the ski resort of Zell am See, central Austria, the Red Cross said.

The transport helicopter had seven people on board and was reportedly carrying equipment to a power plant.

The plane had only the pilot on board and had taken off from Zell am See airport, an employee there said.

Scattered

It was not immediately clear how the accident had happened, police in Salzburg said.

Gerhard Huber, of the Austrian Red Cross, said that weather conditions in the area had been excellent at the time of the crash, which took place at an altitude of 1,000m (3,280 ft).

Wreckage from both aircraft - a Diamond Katana plane and a Super Puma helicopter - was scattered over a wooded area.

The helicopter, owned by Swiss company Helog-Heliswiss AG and the local government, was on its way to the German town of Berchtesgaden, Reuters news agency reported.