Police divers find body of missing patient after medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Catalina Island, near Los Angeles, bringing the death toll to three while two other people were recovering from their injuries, authorities announced Friday.
Divers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department found the victim’s body Thursday in the wreckage of the helicopter after searching more than 156 square miles (404 square kilometers) for 23 hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Relatives of the missing person told ABC7 the woman was being transported from Catalina Island to the mainland for medical treatment after having an allergic reaction. They also said her 20-year-old son accompanied her in the helicopter to help her translate.
The helicopter with five people on board crashed shortly after takeoff and hit the water not far from the island, officials said. The cause is unclear and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
First responders pulled four people from the water Wednesday evening.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said authorities had not yet identified the names of the victims. But he described the two people who died as the pilot and a nurse. He also said another doctor and a fourth person, a man, had been hospitalized.
Luna said the wreckage of the helicopter was about 60 meters deep in the water.
The helicopter’s operator, REACH Air Medical Services of Sacramento, confirmed that two of the crew members had died and a third was recovering in hospital. The company declined to provide further details.
“In the days ahead, our focus will remain on caring for our people, supporting their families, and honoring the lives and service of those we have lost,” REACH said in a statement.
A memorial ceremony was held on the island to honor the victims.
The accident occurred 11 days later a firefighting helicopter crashed, killing two pilots in Yosemite National Park in California, and two weeks later a press helicopter crashed in Los Angeles, killing two people.
Emergency personnel were called to the Catalina crash shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and two others, in stable condition, were transported to hospitals on the mainland, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
The helicopter landed on the island shortly after 7 p.m., after a 24-minute flight from an Oceanside airport, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.
The NTSB identified the plane as a Eurocopter EC-135-P2 and said it would be taken to a secure facility for evaluation, a board spokesperson said.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the accident a terrible tragedy.
“The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes,” she said in a social media post.
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