SYDNEY, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter crashed at an airport in Melbourne's southeast on Thursday, injuring two people.

Emergency services personnel responded to reports of the crash at Moorabbin Airport, a small airport 20 km southeast of Melbourne that is used mostly for flight training and light aircraft, shortly after 2:30 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The fire and rescue agency in the state of Victoria said in a statement that firefighters arrived within five minutes to find a helicopter that had crashed by the side of the runway and was leaking fuel.

It said that the two occupants of the helicopter were treated by ambulance paramedics for minor injuries. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that one occupant was taken to hospital.

Fire and Rescue Victoria said that crews laid a blanket of firefighting foam over the spilt fuel and aircraft and isolated power sources to the helicopter to prevent the fuel from igniting.

Footage captured by Seven Network television crews showed the helicopter on its side with its tail bent.

According to flight tracking data, the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said that it had been notified of a crash involving an R44 helicopter during training operations at the airport. Enditem

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