Five killed when two helicopters collide in Finland

All five people on board two helicopters were killed Saturday when the aircraft collided mid-air in Finland and crashed to the ground, police said.

"Five people died in a helicopter accident near Eura Airport on Saturday," Detective Chief Inspector Johannes Siirila said in a statement.

According to their flight plans, one was carrying two people and the other three. They had taken off from the Estonian capital Tallinn and were bound for Piikajarvi, a few kilometres from where they came down.

Media reports said those on board were businessmen.

Finnish newspaper Iltalehti quoted one witness, Antti Marjanen, who reported seeing one of the helicopters hit the other during a manoeuvre.

"One of them dropped like a stone and the other one more slowly. I didn't hear any sound," Marjanen was quoted as saying.