GUANGZHOU - Two people died in a helicopter crash in South China's Guangdong province on Monday afternoon, local police said.

The wreckage of the crashed helicopter in Dagang township, Guangzhou city, July 29, 2013. [Photo/CFP]

The crash happened at about 4 pm on open ground in Dagang township, Nansha district of the provincial capital city of Guangzhou, the municipal public security bureau posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like microblogging platform.

The two people aboard the helicopter, a 37-year-old male pilot surnamed Pan and a 25-year-old female trainee pilot surnamed Xi, died instantly, according to a police update.

They were engaged in a training course at the time of the accident. The helicopter belonged to a general aviation company based in Guangzhou, it said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.