Crashing helicopter turns out to be a toy

CHARLESTON, N.C., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- A smoking helicopter plunging toward the Wando River in Charleston, S.C., caused rush-hour alarm until it was identified as a 2-foot long toy, police said.

The Post and Courier in Charleston reported that police patrols, a fire battalion chief and three fire department trucks rushed to the scene Wednesday after a motorist on a bridge over the river contacted 911.

"(A police officer) spotted it and realized it was a toy," said Charles Francis, a police spokesman.

The officers spoke with the two people under the bridge who had been playing with the

remote-control helicopter.