Police 'stopped women leaving cult'

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, speaks as Ruby Jessop, rear centre, her six children and sister Flora Jessop listen. Source: AP

AUTHORITIES in the US are investigating whether police in a town dominated by one of the nation's largest polygamous sects prevent women from leaving the church run by imprisoned leader Warren Jeffs.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said the probe involves the town of Colorado City, the home base of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The criminal investigation mirrors the one that landed Jeffs in prison in one of the largest custody cases in US history.

Jeffs, who is said to still rule the sect, is imprisoned for life in Texas after convictions on child sex and bigamy charges.

Mr Horne declined to provide details of the criminal investigation of the FLDS and the Marshal's Office, which serves as a small police force in the twin polygamous towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City.

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, who is said to still control his followers from prison, has been jailed for life in Texas on child sex and bigamy charges.

"Women who wanted to escape have been forcibly held by the marshals against their will,'' Mr Horne said.

Attorneys for the Marshal's Office adamantly denied the charges, calling Mr Horne's words "inflammatory.''

"I can't speak for the FLDS, but the bottom line is the Marshal's Office absolutely does not hold people against their will,'' said lawyer Blake Hamilton.

"The Arizona attorney general, as the highest-ranking law enforcement official in Arizona, ought not be making those statements unless he has evidence of it.''

The church does not have a spokesman to speak on its behalf.

In the earlier case in Texas, authorities there received a complaint of child abuse and in 2008 raided the FLDS' Yearning for Zion Ranch.

The move led to a chaotic roundup of 400 children living at the secretive rural location.

All of the children were eventually returned. But 11 men, including Jeffs and other high-ranking FLDS lieutenants, were arrested on charges of sexual assault or bigamy and later convicted.

Mr Horne fought last year for a bill in the Arizona Legislature aimed at abolishing the Marshal's Office in Colorado City and replacing law enforcement there with deputies from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.

It failed to pass, so he allocated funds to provide for limited patrols by deputies. He said that money will soon run out, and he is again asking the Legislature to take up the bill.

Mr Horne was joined at a news conference by Flora Jessop, a vocal critic of the FLDS who fled the church in 1986. She was flanked by her sister, Ruby Jessop, and Ruby's six young children.

Flora Jessop said her sister, who did not speak at the news conference, had been held captive by the FLDS for years, undergoing sexual and mental abuse at the hands of her husband while not being allowed to leave with her kids.

Ruby Jessop finally fled last year and recently won temporary custody of her children who were being held "hostage'' by the sect, Flora Jessop said.

"It's a good day for freedom,'' she said of the investigation.
 

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Brits to vote on leaving EU

British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a straightforward in/out referendum on the EU by the next Parliament. Source: Getty Images

THE British people will be asked to decide on whether the nation remains in the European Union in the biggest gamble of David Cameron's prime ministership.

Mr Cameron today made his much-anticipated groundbreaking speech pledging to hold a straightforward in/out referendum on the EU by the next Parliament.

It will be the first time in more than 35 years that Britons will be given a say on their connection to the rest of Europe.

Mr Cameron last night worked the phones, contacting all his counterparts in Europe warning them about his speech in which he threatened to pull the UK out of the EU if Brussels did not reform the EU and hand Britain back some powers.

For some time Britons have resented having to adhere to blanket laws issued by the EU which they say don't match their own.

Britain overtook France this week to become Germany's biggest global trading partner.

Mr Cameron he didn't want to "pull up the drawbridge and retreat from the rest of the world''. He said he realised many in the EU viewed Britain as argumentative and strong-minded, but the referendum would be put to the British people by 2017.

He said while he wanted Britain to stay in the EU there were inherent problems in the Eurozone structure such as a  lack of democratic accountability.

He also remarked on the gap between its operation and expectations of its people including taxes used to bail out other countries. 

If not addressed, he said, the EU would "fail'' and Britain would "drift toward the exit''.

He added what was needed was "fundamental far-reaching change'', greater flexibility, a leaner commission with a significant budget cut and a change of attitude that one size fits all and rejecting of the idea that new thinking be seen as "heresy''.

France and Germany - the EU's power couple - predicted that Mr Cameron faced an uphill struggle to change Britain's terms of membership, although German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was ready to discuss his "wishes".

"We can't have Europe a la carte," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius insisted. "Imagine the EU was a football club: once you've joined up and you're in this club, you can't then say you want to play rugby."

Mrs Merkel said Europe was all about finding "fair compromises".

"In this context, we are of course ready also to talk about British wishes but one must keep in mind that other countries also have other wishes," she added.

The EU's executive arm tried to put a brave face on the speech, welcoming Mr Cameron's declared willingness to remain in the EU.

Mr Cameron has faced intense pressure from the eurosceptic right wing of the Conservative Party to take a stand on Europe, an issue that has long divided the party.

A leading Tory eurosceptic, Daniel Hannan, hailed the speech as "the most significant I've heard by a British prime minister in 40 years of membership", adding: "He's the first British leader to have trust in the electorate."

- with AFP

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Pictures show Algerian kidnappers

Japanese officials visit the In Aménas gas plant in Algeria at the end of one of the worst international hostage crises in decades. Sixty dead include at least nine Japanese. Travis Brecher reports.

THE first pictures to emerge from the Algerian gas complex stormed by Islamist militants show gun-toting kidnappers guarding hostages.

The daytime photos were obtained by Japan's Kyodo news agency, which said that they were taken by an unidentified Algerian worker at the vast complex before the crisis ended in a bloodbath with at least 37 foreign workers dead.

The mobile-phone pictures were taken on January 16, the first day of the siege, Kyodo said, citing the pictures' metadata.

In one photo, a militant is shown with a brown cloth around his head and face, leaving a small eye slit, and wearing black gloves. He is carrying what appears to be an AK-47 assault rifle, and stands among casually dressed workers.

Hostages, said by Kyodo to be Algerian, are shown standing or sitting on the dusty ground with packed travel bags and plastic water bottles around them. They are wearing jackets and woolly hats. None of their faces can be seen clearly.

A photo taken by one of the Algerians held hostage shows Algerian workers standing outside an accommodation unit of the plant. The man in camouflage (C-R) is one of the captors.

The photo, which Kyodo said was taken outside a workers' residence, also showed white sport utility vehicles behind a security fence in the distance.

Another picture shows three armed and camouflaged kidnappers guarding foreign workers sitting against a tan-coloured, one-storey structure with small windows. Small trees and street-lamps surround the building.

Other armed Islamists are shown bending over to check unidentified items on a paved path near the building while a group of workers, identified as Algerian, look on.

A third photograph shows Algerian workers standing near a worker residence, also surrounded by packed travel bags. An unidentified man in the centre of the photograph, possibly a worker, is shown wearing a blue jumpsuit while a man carrying a rifle is pictured from behind.

A handout photo shows three attackers (background R) guarding foreigners while Algerians (L) stand ouside their accomodations in Amenas.

The fate of those pictured is unknown.

Japanese media have given blanket coverage to the crisis and its aftermath as the country reels from its biggest death toll in an act of terror since the September 11 attacks of 2001.

At least seven Japanese nationals were killed in the Algeria attack, and the government is unable to account for three others.

A handout photo shows Algerian workers standing outside an accommodation unit of the plant.

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Cheese fire shuts tunnel for weeks

A fire involving a load of goat's cheese has shut down a road tunnel in Norway. Picture: Bob Barker Source: News Limited

A ROAD tunnel in northern Norway will be shut for several weeks after a 27-tonne truckload of sweet goat's milk cheese caught fire.

Regional traffic department chief Geir Joergensen says flames engulfed the tunnel last week and gases from the melting load hindered firefighters. It took four days to put it out.

The driver was not hurt and no other vehicles were in the 3.6km tunnel at the time.

Mr Joergensen said the tunnel near the small Arctic municipality of Tysfjord, some 1350km north of the capital, Oslo, likely will be closed for two more weeks.

Goat's milk cheese is an essential part of many Norwegians' daily diet.

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Brits have a lot to whinge about on health

Britons felt great during last year's London Olympics but say they rarely feel 100 per cent. Picture: AP Source: AP

THE findings of a new medical study in Britain could go some way toward explaining the colloquial whingeing Pom.

A survey conducted by Spire Bristol Hospital found the average British person spends just a sixth of the year feeling 100 per cent healthy.

Residents of the UK complained of ailments including colds and ear infections, cricked necks, bitten tongues and backaches which plagued some 300 days of their year.

The findings come from a poll of 2000 people, which also showed a quarter of respondents had a condition that is ongoing.

"While people often adopt a 'grin and bear it' approach, it's important to recognise what's easily treatable and can relieve us from a lot of unnecessary suffering day to day," hospital director Rob Anderson told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Survey results also show that people feel run-down for at least two days each week, with 11.35am on Monday being the most common time for people to feel ill.

Saturday lunchtime sees Britons feeling their most healthy.

Headaches are high on the list of complaints, closely followed by back pain, and discomfort from an old sports injury.

The survey also found that in an average year, residents of the UK will experience two ear infections, five bouts of heartburn, an eye infection, three bitten tongues and five cricked necks.

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Clinton in hot seat over Benghazi

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Source: AFP

SECRETARY of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Congress overnight that she is committed to improving security at US diplomatic missions worldwide.

Mrs Clinton, in probably her last appearance in Congress as secretary of state, said she is determined to leave the department and country ``safer, stronger and more secure.''

She told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that no one is more committed to "getting this right."

She was testifying about the deadly assault on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

She was referring to implementing the 29 recommendations of an independent review board that was highly critical of the State Department.

Mrs Clinton was the sole witness at back-to-back hearings before the Senate and House foreign policy panels on the September raid, the independent panel's review and steps the Obama administration has taken to beef up security at US facilities worldwide.

Mrs Clinton had been scheduled to testify before Congress last month, but an illness, a concussion and a blood clot near her brain forced her to postpone her appearance.

Mrs Clinton's testimony was to focus on the attack after more than three months of Republican charges that the Obama administration ignored signs of a deteriorating security situation in Libya and cast an act of terrorism as mere protests over an anti-Muslim video in the heat of a presidential election. Washington officials suspect that militants linked to al-Qaida carried out the attack.

"It's been a cover-up from the beginning," Senator John McCain, a Republican and the newest member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Tuesday.

Politics play an outsized role in any appearance by Mrs Clinton, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 and is the subject of constant speculation about a possible bid in 2016. The former first lady and New York senator - who at times has been a polarising figure dogged by controversy - is about to end her four-year tenure at the State Department with high favourable ratings.

A poll early last month by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found 65 per cent of Americans held a favourable impression of Mrs Clinton, compared with 29 per cent unfavorable.

Challenging Mrs Clinton at the hearing will be two possible 2016 Republican presidential candidates - Florida's Marco Rubio and Kentucky's Rand Paul, also a new member of the committee.

Mrs Clinton did little to quiet the presidential chatter earlier this month when she returned to work at the State Department after her illness. On the subject of retirement, she said, "I don't know if that is a word I would use, but certainly stepping off the very fast track for a little while."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday that Mrs Clinton would focus on the Accountability Review Board's independent assessment of the attack and the State Department's work to implement its findings.

"Systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place,'' the panel said in its report last month.

The report singled out the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Bureau of Near East Affairs, saying there appeared to be a lack of cooperation and confusion over protection at the mission in Benghazi. The report described a security vacuum in Libya after rebel forces toppled the decades-long regime of strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The report made 29 recommendations to improve diplomatic security, particularly at high-threat posts.

Ms Nuland said Mrs Clinton "pledged not only to accept all 29 of the recommendations, but to have the implementation of those recommendations well under way before her successor took over. So I think she'll want to give a status on that."

Asked for the number of State Department employees fired for their handling of Benghazi, Ms Nuland said four people were put on administrative leave. They included Eric Boswell, who resigned from the position of assistant secretary of diplomatic security.

But Ms Nuland declined to say if Mr Boswell and the others still are working for the department in some capacity.

Senator John Barrasso, a Republican member of the Senate committee, questioned the status of the FBI investigation and whether any individual has been implicated.

"My last understanding is that there is no one currently still being held for questioning, no one's been prosecuted for this or held accountable even though the president promised that to be the case," he said.

Still, Mr Barrasso insisted that the hearing will be respectful.

Presiding over the Senate session will be Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, and the next chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"My hope is we look at this as a positive constructive opportunity to build much greater security for our diplomatic missions across the world," Senator Menendez said. "That's how I'm going to the hearing. I hope my colleagues have the same type of view."

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Suicide bomb at funeral kills 42

An Iraqi boy stands near a destroyed car at the scene of a car bomb attack in the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad on Tuesday. Picture: Hadi Mizban Source: AP

A SUICIDE bomber made his way into a Shi'ite mosque north of Baghdad and blew himself up in the middle of a packed funeral on Wednesday, killing 42 people and leaving corpses scattered across the floor.

The attack, the deadliest in six months, is likely to heighten tensions as Iraq grapples with a political crisis and more than a month of protests in Sunni-majority areas that have hardened opposition to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

No group claimed responsibility, but Sunni militants often launch attacks in a bid to destabilise the government and push Iraq back towards the sectarian violence that blighted it from 2005 to 2008.

The bomber struck at the Sayid al-Shuhada mosque in Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometres north of Baghdad, and targeted the funeral of a relative of a politician who was shot dead a day earlier.

"Corpses are on the ground of the Husseiniyah (Shi'ite mosque)," said Shallal Abdul, mayor of Tuz Khurmatu. "The suicide bomber managed to enter and blow himself up in the middle of the mourners."

Niyazi Moamer Oghlu, secretary general of the provincial council of Salaheddin, which surrounds Tuz Khurmatu, put the toll from the attack at 42 dead and 75 wounded.

A car bomb detonated in the Shi'ite neighbourhood of Shula, Baghdad is one of several blasts to claim lives in the Iraqi capital Tuesday. Lindsey Parietti reports.

Among those hurt were officials and tribal leaders, including Ali Hashem Oghlu, the deputy chief of the Iraqi Turkman Front and a provincial councillor in Salaheddin.

The funeral had been for Mr Oghlu's brother-in-law, who killed in Tuz on Tuesday.

Tuz Khurmatu lies in a tract of disputed territory that Kurdistan wants to incorporate into its autonomous three-province region against the wishes of the central government in Baghdad.

The row is regarded by diplomats and officials as the greatest long-term threat to Iraq's stability.

The death toll from yesterday's blast was the highest from a single attack since a series of bombings north of Baghdad on July 23 killed 42 people.

Also yesterday, gunmen killed a school principal near the main northern city of Mosul and an anti-al-Qaida militiaman was shot dead near the predominantly Sunni town of Fallujah.

Yesterday's violence came after a wave of attacks on Tuesday killed 26 people and wounded dozens more.

That broke four days of relative calm following a spate of incidents claimed by al-Qaida's front group that killed at least 88 people on January 15-17, according to an AFP tally.

The militant group is widely seen as weaker than during the peak of Iraq's sectarian bloodshed, but is still capable of carrying out mass-casualty attacks on a regular basis.

The latest wave of violence means the overall death toll from bloodshed in Iraq this month has already surpassed that of any of the previous three months, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.

Attacks in Iraq are down from their peak in 2006-2007, but they are still common across the country.

The unrest comes amid a political crisis that has pitted Mr Maliki against several of his erstwhile government partners, less than three months before provincial elections.

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'Build snowmen to stop floods'

Brits are being advised to build snowmen to try and stop snow melting at the same time and related flooding once temperatures start to rise this weekend. Source: AP

BRITONS are being advised to build snowmen as a way of preventing their homes from flooding as temperatures start to rise.

The strange advice comes from the UK Environment Agency which argues the pastime is no longer just a childish endeavour with temperatures tipped to swing from -13C to 13C this weekend.

It says that compacting the snow around your house will slow the rate that it melts.

Agency spokesman Roy Stokes told the UK Telegraph that the advice was particularly relevant for those people with flood-prone houses.

"Ideally if everybody built themselves a snowman that will slow the thaw down a bit," he said. "If you notice when people clear their drive the snow thaws away but the compacted piles stay which will give a balanced thaw, which would be helpful.

"We would rather it be a gradual thaw than a really quick one," he said. "If it does go to quick we are likely to see a few flood alerts."

 

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Crying thief sent home with pizza

A man robbing a pizza restaurant in Montana broke down crying and said he was just trying to feed his family. The sympathetic clerk sent him home with chicken wings and a pizza. Source: Supplied

A MAN who apparently summoned the courage to rob a Montana pizza restaurant changed his mind as the clerk started to hand him money, broke down crying and ended up leaving with a pizza to feed his hungry family.

Helena Police Chief Troy McGee says just after midnight Monday, a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandanna on his face entered a Papa John's restaurant and handed the clerk a note demanding money.

The cashier started to comply, but then the man started crying and said he was just trying to provide for his family.

The clerk offered to make a pizza and some chicken wings. The man waited while the food was cooked, then left on foot.

A Papa John's manager declined to comment.
 

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London chopper crash kills two

Emergency services are responding to reports of a helicopter crash in south London.

• Two dead, including pilot, in London chopper crash
• Aircraft hit crane atop tower building in morning rush hour
• Street aflame and cars burnt out in dreadful scenes

LONDONERS have told how they feared a terror attack as a helicopter spun from the sky and crashed near the MI6 building in an accident that has killed two people.

Emergency services were called to the scene near the River Thames at Wandsworth Road South Lambeth about 8am local time, after reports an aircraft hit a construction crane atop a new luxury housing development.

Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to clip a crane in heavy fog and cartwheeled to the road below on top of busy peak-hour traffic. The crash caused a fire to one side of the building.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there were 11 casualties, including two dead, one person critically ill, and others "less seriously injured".

A helicopter has crashed close to Vauxhall train station in central London during the morning rush hour.

One of the dead is the helicopter's pilot, Captain Pete Barnes, 50, who was one of the most experienced pilots in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph reports.

With 25 years experience, Captain Barnes had logged more than 10,500 flying hours and was highly regarded among his peers for his skill and professionalism.

Dramatic footage shot on mobile phone by bystanders showed a ferocious fire on the street as aviation fuel ignited.

Steve Heard posted this image of the scene on Twitter: "Helicopter Crash in Vauxhall Waterloo and Vauxhall stations now closed. #Chaos" Picture: @steveheard82/Twitter

A pall of smoke hung over the city, initially sparking fears an aircraft had gone down in a terror attack as the M16 intelligence building is a few metres away. The rumour was fuelled on social media.

But The Met Police quickly issued a bulletin confirming the accident was not terror related.

The busy London Heliport at Battersea is nearby and it is not clear whether the helicopter was coming or going.

Wayne Courtney posted this image of the crash on Twitter. Picture: @waynieboy75/ Twitter

Australian Patrick Gartland was cycling to work when the chopper crashed and he told Sky News that he and another cyclist took cover in a nearby bus shelter for up to 15 minutes as debris rained down.

"The helicopter was ablaze to the right of us," said the former Melbourne resident who moved to UK seven years ago.

"Watching the helicopter cartwheel down and the first realisation there's people in the helicopter and they're not going to survive," Mr Gartland said, relaying what went through his mind during the ordeal.

See the dramatic events unfold from ground level after a helicopter crashed on a busy London street.

"And then you watch the helicopter crash and explode and then you're snapped back into reality with construction workers yelling for people to take cover and you realise `I need to get away from this and protect my own safety.

"Your instincts kick in a little. Once we were under the safety of the bus shelter and you realise you're out of immediate danger, you start realising the gravity of what you've just witnessed."

One witness, Sarah-Beth Casey, who lives in a nearby apartment said that "you're always worried about things like 9/11".

Twitter user Tom posted this image of the fire on the road in Vauxhall with this caption: "Sh**ts gone down in vauxhall." Picture:@tim_avis/Twitter

"When I heard the explosion, it was like a little earthquake. I looked up to see debris falling off the tower," she said.

Allen Crosbie, site manager for the landscape firm Maylim company, who was working at the scene, said the explosion convinced him and others that London was being attacked.

"I was 100 per cent sure it was a terrorist attack," he said.

Nic Walker posted this image of the crash site on Twitter: "The remains of the helicopter fuel. It ditched into the building on the left." Picture: @Nic0/Twitter

"There was debris everywhere, a tonne of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang, bang - I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack."

He and everyone just ran for their lives, he said.

Another witness, Erin Rogers, was waiting for a bus at Vauxhall station when she saw the crash.

The unrecognisable wreckage of the helicopter is cordoned off. (AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld)

"It was a bit surreal actually," she said.

"I just had a coffee in my hand I looked up heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor. Then the helicopter was in flames."

Construction worker Mat Haverson also thought it was a "terror attack". "It was extremely scary," he added.

Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image of the crane that had fallen to the ground: "Part of the crane on the ground by the crash site." Picture: @QuinMurray/Twitter

One of the first firefighters on the scene said it was "absolute chaos", but revealed that the helicopter blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes.

Station Officer Bruce Grain said the helicopter had clipped the crane, spun out of control and crash-landed, hitting several vehicles.

"It burst into flames, which spread to adjacent buildings," he said.

Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image:"Helicopter just hit a crane and crashed a few metres in front of me in vauxhall. Completely shaken." Picture: Twitter/@QuinMurray

"I could see smoke from a mile away. There was absolute chaos. The helicopter was still alight, part of the rotor blade was on the roof of nearby buildings.

"We were aware that the helicopter could have had a full tank of fuel, but we just used water."

Sharon Moore, who lives on the nearby Wyvil Estate, said she saw the aircraft slice through the crane "as if it was a piece of paper".

Debris and a burned out car where the chopper crashed. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL

The 36-year-old woman, who was with her nine-year-old daughter Tiah, described hearing four bangs and watching two cars explode.

"My daughter was so traumatised, it was so shocking," she said. "It sounded like a massive explosion, like something whining in the sky and then it just went 'bang'.

"You couldn't see a lot at first because of the fog. The helicopter did not seem to know which way to turn and then it just dropped, it sliced, screeching into the metal.

The damaged crane on St Georges Wharf Tower after a helicopter hit it. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

"I called the police and they got there in seconds. We could then see them trying to pull people out of the cars."

She described seeing what appeared to be body bags.

"We saw someone pulled out and they were covered."

Emergency services at the scene. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

She said the incident was "like something out of an action movie".

"We saw the helicopter falling out of the sky, loads of smoke as it landed.

"It went bang. Another car went bang. There was lots of smoke and debris."

Remnants of the helicopter which crashed onto a construction crane are seen on the ground.

View Larger Map

The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute, when thousands of pedestrians were trying to get to work.

William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker at the St. George Wharf Tower, said he heard the helicopter hit the crane.

"First we heard a big crash, looked up, that's when we saw the helicopter coming toward us. We heard an explosion as it hit the ground," he said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he believed the helicopter was being diverted to a nearby heliport when it crashed.

"The top of the crane was actually obscured by fog so I didn't see the impact," witness Michael Gavin told the BBC. "But I heard a bang and saw the body of the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane and then a large plume of smoke afterwards."

The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there.

Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights.

"The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Mr Yates said. 

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