Hong Kong  - Three people were reportedly injured when a helicopter crash-landed into a coach as it tried to take off at Hong Kong's old airport site Friday.

The helicopter was taking off at a private flying club on the site of Hong Kong's former Kai Tak international airport in the city centre Friday morning.

Witnesses quoted by government-run radio station RTHK said strong gusts of wind forced it out of the sky and it crash-landed into the front of a coach that was driving across the airstrip.

The coach driver and the two people on board the helicopter were injured and taken to hospital after firemen and emergency services rushed to the scene, RTHK reported.

Hong Kong's old international airport, set in the middle of Victoria Harbour at the heart of the city, was decommissioned in 1998 when the new Chek Lap Kok airport on Lantau Island opened.

It has since been used for a number of activities including car racing and a private flying club. It is due to eventually be redeveloped as a residential and cultural district. (dpa)