Two people died and nine people were injured today when a helicopter crashed into a crane in central London and plummeted to the ground.

Witnesses reported seeing debris falling from the sky after the aircraft struck the crane before exploding into flames and plunging to a street near Vauxhall station in rush hour.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe confirmed that there were two deaths, one person critically injured and a number of others with less serious injuries.

London Fire Brigade station manager Bruce Grain, one of first firefighters at the scene, said it "was absolute chaos'' but he revealed the fire was put out within 20 minutes.

Eight fire engines, four fire rescue units and around 60 firefighters plus officers attended the scene of the crash, a few hundred yards from MI6, on a busy road.

Firefighters rescued a man from a burning car and brought a blaze caused by the crash under control.

Four fire engines and two fire rescue units also attended reports of a crane in a precarious position. The brigade was called at 8am.

The crane was on top of a building called The Tower in the St George Wharf development, and is billed as one of Europe’s tallest residential towers.

Video footage shot on a mobile phone showed an entire road blocked by burning wreckage and aviation fuel. The side of a building on one side of the street was also damaged by the flames.

Passers-by stood watching as the wreckage burned. A motorcycle was seen lying on its side in the road where it was abandoned.

Paul Ferguson, who was working in an office near the incident, told BBC News: "There was a flash and the helicopter plunged to the ground. It exploded and you can imagine the smoke coming out of it.

"It may be that on this misty morning the lights on nearby St George Tower weren’t on and it moved and clipped the edge of the crane and lost control."

Witness Chris Matthison told BBC News: "There was some damage to the crane. The top of the nearest building is steeped in mist and difficult to see."

He added: "I heard a very unusual dull thud, then there was silence."

The aircraft is understood to be an AgustaWestland AW109, a lightweight, twin-engine helicopter with eight seats.

Steve Carslake told BBC Radio 5 Live that he saw a car explode with someone apparently trapped inside.

Mr Carslake said he had got out of a van in Mill Street and saw the aircraft hit the crane.

He said: "We heard someone was actually trapped in the car. We went to run towards the car and there was just a large explosion again."

The Met Police said they were "aware" of 11 casualties, including two dead.

One person was taken to a south London hospital in a critical condition, three people suffering minor injuries were taken to south London hospitals and five people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard said: "We believe at the moment there are something in the order of 11 casualties and the other reason we’re a little unclear is because people are presenting to different places trying to get help."

There was some confusion around the number of people in the aircraft, although it was earlier reported that it was flying between Gatwick and Elstree with two on board.

However, a spokesman for the RNLI said London Coastguard was contacted by Battersea London Heliport, which confirmed it had lost contact with one of its aircraft.

A lifeboat was launched from the Tower RNLI lifeboat station to search the Thames but is understood to have since stood down.

Traffic chaos broke out in the wake of the incident, with Vauxhall Bridge Road southbound closed, Wandsworth Road partially closed, Nine Elms Lane partially closed and South Lambeth Road partially closed.

Vauxhall Tube, train and bus stations are also currently closed.

Cloud in central London was very low at the time of the accident, according to MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association.

Forecaster Paul Knightley said London City Airport was reporting a cloudbase of just 100ft (30.5m) at 8am.

"The top of the building would have been shrouded in cloud," he said.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) said: "Today's two aviation incidents - in central London and in Japan - remind us that air safety is important for all types of operations, in all weather conditions and in every corner of the world.

"We will fully support the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) who will be on site and help them determine the cause of today’s tragic incident."

A spokesman for St Thomas's Hospital said: "We can confirm that three patients have been treated at St Thomas's Hospital following an incident in Vauxhall this morning.''

Vehicles used by the London Duck Tours company are stored close to the scene of the accident but were not damaged.

A spokesman said tours had been cancelled because of the incident, and a film shoot planned for lunchtime for a private company would not go ahead.

The company’s nine vehicles are converted Second World War landing craft and are a familiar sight around the streets of central London.

London Fire Brigade issued a later statement which said: "Six fire engines, four fire rescue units, a number of other specialist vehicles, 88 firefighters and officers are attending a helicopter crash near Wandsworth Road in South Lambeth. Firefighters have now brought the fire under control.

"The police have confirmed that two people have died at the scene. Fire crews have rescued a man from a burning car and he has been taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.

"Fifty-seven firefighters and officers are also attending a crane which has been left in a precarious position at St George’s Wharf as a result of the helicopter crash. Four fire engines and two fire rescue units are in attendance."

A spokesman for London Ambulance Service said four patients were treated at the scene for shock.

He said: "We have treated five patients for minor injuries and three of them were taken to St Thomas’s Hospital and two - a man and a woman - were taken to King’s College Hospital.

"We are treating four patients on scene for shock."

London Fire Brigade said its fire boat was doing precautionary checks of the River Thames.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said on Twitter: "Helicopter crash update - all patients have been treated for minor injuries, no confirmation of anyone critically ill.''

It is thought the helicopter had taken off from Redhill airfield in Surrey and that the passenger on board had arrived at Redhill by road from Gatwick Airport.

It is further thought the craft had tried to land at Elstree in Hertfordshire but was unable to do so due to fog.

The helicopter is thought to have been en route back to Redhill - and not attempting to land at Battersea - when the accident happened.

The two people killed when a helicopter crashed into a crane in central London today were the pilot and someone on the ground, emergency services said.