Photo/Illutration The site of a helicopter crash is cordoned off in San Pedro, Laguna province, south of Manila, on March 5. (AP Photo)

SAN PEDRO, Philippines--A helicopter carrying the Philippine national police chief and seven other people crashed after hitting a power cable on takeoff Thursday, slightly injuring him.

Gen. Archie Francisco Gamboa and the others were pulled from the wreckage by police officers. He was injured in the right shoulder but flashed a thumbs-up and said, “I’m OK,” while being wheeled to an ambulance that brought him to a hospital in metropolitan Manila.

The police intelligence chief, chief comptroller and spokesman were also on board. They and the flight crew sustained injuries as well, but their conditions were not immediately released.

The helicopter had been taking off from a police compound in a rural village in San Pedro city in Laguna province south of Manila after the group met with local police officials.

The aircraft whipped up a thick cloud of dust as it took off, hit a power cable then crashed with a loud thud on a road near houses, witness Glenda Garcia told The Associated Press.

“It was really loud and we ran away in fear because we thought the helicopter would move out of control in a circle and hit us," Garcia said, adding that power in her village was cut due to the crash.

A motorcycle was damaged but apparently no people on the ground were hurt in the crash. A part of the propeller or rotor blades also hit the roof of a house, Garcia and police officials said.

TV footage showed the white Bell 429 helicopter on its side, with firefighters trying to put out a small fire in one part of the wreckage.

The group had flown to the area to inspect vehicles by highway patrol officers. They were heading to a police camp in the region for more meetings when their chopper crashed, police officials said.

Gamboa temporarily took over the national police force in October after his predecessor retired early after being linked to illegal drugs.

The 200,000-strong police force has enforced President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug crackdown that has left thousands of mostly petty drug suspects dead in a bloody campaign that has alarmed Western governments and human rights groups since he took office in mid-2016.

Duterte formally designated Gamboa as the chief of police force last month.

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