Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, north of St. Louis, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Two people died on Thursday after a helicopter they were on board crashed into a barge on the Mississippi River, shutting the waterway to traffic near Alton, Illinois, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

EAST ALTON, Ill. -- Two people died when a helicopter crashed into a barge in the Mississippi River near East Alton, Illinois, on Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.