A helicopter carrying the chief of police in the Philippines crashed on Thursday morning (March 5) leaving two other officers in a critical condition.

The chopper was carrying Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Archie Gamboa and seven other high-ranking officials when it crashed shortly after take-off.

They were on their way to a conference in Calamba, Laguna but went on a detour to San Pedro to inspect impounded vehicles.

The two-year-old Bell 429 aircraft landed, then took off again, but lost control in poor visibility caused by dust from the ground and became entangled in overhead wires. The aircraft was split in two after the crash.

PNP Director for Intelligence Police Major General Mariel Magaway and Director for Comptrollership Police Major General Jose Maria Ramos were rushed to hospital after the crash at 8am local time.

"The are in a critical condition," Police Major General Benigno Durana Jr., chief of the PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations,said at a press conference.

"They are being well-taken care of by doctors in Laguna. They will be mobilized and transferred to Manila.''

The five other injured policemen were stable.

Gamboa was reportedly ferried out of the crash site conscious and made a thumbs-up sign as he was rescued out of the debris.