HOUSTON—A news helicopter belonging to Houston ABC affiliate KTRK crashed in Montgomery County Monday morning, 11 News has confirmed.

Two people were killed.

“All of us at KTRK-TV are deeply saddened by the tragic accident involving SkyEye 13 and our hearts go out to the families of the pilot and the photographer,” KTRK’s Tom Ash said in a statement.

The deceased were identified as pilot John Downhower and photographer Dave Garrett.

The chopper went down in the W.G. Jones State Forest after responding to a triple shooting call near FM 1488 and Peoples Road.

Harold Robinson, who lives near the crash site, told 11 News that he heard the helicopter flying and then an explosion. He said he called 911.

“It happened real fast, yeah, and the explosion – it was enough to know there were probably no survivors,” he said. “Where they landed, there was no way they could hit it. No pilot would try to put it down in land that thick.”

It was unclear what caused the crash.

Thick smoke could be seen rising from the site, and debris and flames were scattered among the trees.

Part of the tail of the aircraft, bearing its logo, was visible on the ground.

Rescue workers quickly extinguished the flames, leaving a large charred area in the woods. They rushed in with a stretcher, but returned with it empty.

Authorities from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were en route to begin investigating, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Kenneth Hiebert said.

Still, it may be some time before they know what caused the crash.  Officials said they did not receive a mayday or emergency transmission of any kind.

“It looks like the helicopter impacted the ground at a very steep angle. It gouged a big hole in the ground, and once it did that, it broke apart,” Hiebert said.

The aircraft, owned by Helicopters Inc., was a Bell 206L4, company spokeswoman Seva Kaiser told the Houston Chronicle. She said she did not know how old the helicopter was.

The company was founded in 1978 and leases aircraft to about 70 news organizations around the country.

The tragedy prompted an outpouring of sympathy from other local news organizations and residents.

“It’s a terrible loss for our community and our industry. Our hearts go out to our colleagues at KTRK,” KHOU-TV/DT’s Executive News Director Keith Connors said.

Christopher Ebdon, av8pix.com

Dave Garrett sits aboard SkyEye.

The accident was just the most recent in a series of news helicopter crashes over the past 10 years.

In 2007, two choppers collided over the skies of Phoenix, one from Belo station KTVK.  Four people died.

In 2000, the pilot of KRIV’s helicopter died when SkyFox crashed.

The next year, Air 11’s pilot walked away from a crash landing.

Still, the NTSB says chopper crashes are down from a reported 190 in 2000 to 144 in 2006.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.