"A number of people" have been injured after a helicopter has crashed into a building in Ireland.

Emergency services have descended on the scene in Killucan, County Westmeath after the incident - which police confirmed happened at around 3.30pm today.

Acting chief fire officer with Westmeath Fire and Rescue Service Pat Hunt said there had been "a number of casualties".

Speaking on Midlands 103, a local radio station, Hunt said: "We understand that it's an incident involving a helicopter crashing into a building in the Joristown Upper townland in Killucan, Co Westmeath.

The AAIU has been notified of an accident involving a single-engine helicopter near Killucan Co. Westmeath this afternoon. The AAIU is deploying a team of inspectors at this time. Further updates will be provided when available.

— AAIU IRELAND (@aaiu_ireland) July 30, 2024

"All the the principal response agencies are mobilising to the scene: An Garda Siochana (Irish national police), the ambulance service and ourselves.

"What we can understand is that there are a number of casualties involved, but again, we cannot at this stage confirm the number."

The Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) said it had deployed a team of inspectors to the site of the single-engine helicopter crash.

While data from air traffic monitoring site FlightRadar24 indicated that the helicopter, understood to be a Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, stopped submitting flight data while flying northeast of Killucan, near what appears to be a number of farm buildings.

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The helicopter is thought to have taken off from Dublin approximately 25 minutes before it crashed.

Father Stan Deegan, Parish Priest of St Brigid's Church in nearby Raharney told RTE he was "shocked to hear the news".

"Whoever the people are who are involved in the incident and wherever they are from, I hope and pray that life will be spared.

"It is a serious event and you would worry for the families involved. The local community is a very hospitable one, with a good community spirit and the people here would respond to local needs."

More to follow...