Key takeaways:
- Five people were aboard the helicopter; two died, two were hospitalized and one was missing.
- The helicopter was submerged in 240 feet of water off Catalina Island.
- The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of the Eurocopter EC 135 P2.
A medical helicopter crashed into the ocean off Catalina Island on Wednesday night, killing two people and sending two others to hospitals. Rescuers searched through the night for a fifth person who was aboard the aircraft, authorities said.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department received reports of the crash shortly before 8 p.m. and dispatched helicopters and divers at about 7:50 p.m., according to CBS News. First responders pulled four people from the water. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two were taken to hospitals on the mainland, the fire department said.
The fire department described the hospitalized patients as being in stable condition, The Guardian reported. CBS News said sheriff’s deputies initially did not know their conditions.
“This remains an active scene with search and rescue operations continuing throughout the night,” the fire department said. The Coast Guard also said it would continue searching overnight. The fifth person remained missing as of 9:40 p.m., CBS News reported, and rescuers were still searching early Thursday, according to The Guardian.
County firefighters and lifeguards responded alongside the Coast Guard and sheriff’s deputies, officials said. Authorities said the helicopter was submerged in 240 feet (73 meters) of water off Catalina, an island about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the Los Angeles County mainland, The Guardian reported.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said on X that she had been told the medevac helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from Catalina. “Search and rescue operations are underway and I am praying for everyone who was on board,” she wrote.
The helicopter belonged to Reach Air Medical Services, deputies told CBS News. Flight-tracking data showed a Reach Air Medical Services helicopter departing Oceanside in San Diego County at 6:40 p.m. and landing on Catalina at 7:04 p.m., CBS News reported. Hahn said the crash occurred after the helicopter took off from the island roughly an hour later. The fire department said the aircraft’s flight plan was unclear.
A Reach spokesperson said the company was aware of the incident but could not provide further information. “Our immediate concern is for the well-being of those involved,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate the crash. It identified the helicopter as a Eurocopter EC 135 P2. Authorities had not said what caused it to go down.
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