Senator John Heinz and six other people died today when his chartered plane collided in the air with a helicopter inspecting the plane's landing gear.

Burning wreckage fell on the grounds of an elementary school in nearby Lower Merion Township; two of the dead were children playing outside at noon recess.

Besides Senator Heinz, a Pennsylvania Republican, two other people on his plane and the two pilots on the helicopter were killed in the collision. At least two other children, the school custodian and an unknown number of other bystanders were injured, the local authorities said. One boy was burned critically.

The collision came after the Senator's plane reported a problem with its landing gear and the helicopter offered to fly nearby to see whether the gear was down for a landing, according to preliminary reports from aviation officials in Washington.

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