A helicopter pilot died when the aircraft crashed near a St. Louis hospital, fire officials said.

The St. Louis Fire Department said on its Twitter account that the helicopter went down on the street behind the St. Louis University Hospital, killing the pilot and causing a fire.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper reported, citing city Fire Captain Garon Mosby, that the pilot was the only person in the helicopter at the time, and that it was headed to the medical center to pick up a crew.

Further details were not immediately available as representatives for the fire department could not be reached.

The newspaper published a photo of officials inspecting the charred and smoldering wreckage, and witnesses said the accident sounded like an explosion.

"It rocked the neighborhood," area resident Kenneth Grady, 48, told the Post-Dispatch.