Argentina helicopter crash: Dramatic footage shows moment two aircraft collide and plunge to the ground

Helicopter was carrying contestants on European reality TV show Dropped

The moment the two helicopters collide

Dramatic video footage has emerged of the moment two helicopters transporting sporting stars on a celebrity reality television show collided, killing everyone on board.

The footage shows the aircraft crashing into each other mid-air, before plummeting to the ground near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, about 730 miles (1,170 kilometres) northwest of Buenos Aires.

Separate footage shows people rushing towards black plumes of smoke on the ground in the aftermath of the collision.

Men work amid the wreckage of two helicopters which collided mid-air near Villa Castelli

As part of the show, other contestants were standing blindfolded on the ground a few hundred meters from the helicopters' flight path, Reuters reports.

They reportedly ran to the crash site but could not extinguish the fire.

Paris has opened an investigation into the incident, according to Le Monde, which killed eight French nationals and two Argentine pilots. French Olympic gold medal swimmer Camille Muffat, Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine and sailor Florence Arthaud were among those killed.

The stars were filming a popular European celebrity reality show called Dropped, which follows contestants as they attempt to find their own food and shelter in remote conditions.

The cause of the collision remains unknown. Weather is not believed to be involved.