Police divers find body of missing person after helicopter crash near Los Angeles | California

Police divers have recovered the body of a patient missing after a medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island near Los Angeles, bringing the death toll to three while two others were recovering from their injuries, authorities said 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 km2) for 23 hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Relatives of the missing person told local TV station ABC7 that the woman was being transported from Catalina Island to the mainland to receive medical treatment after having an allergic reaction. They also said her 20-year-old son accompanied her on the helicopter to help as a language interpreter.

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 (NTSB) is investigating. First responders pulled four people from the water Wednesday evening.

Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said authorities had not yet identified the names of the victims. But he described two of those 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.

A memorial ceremony was held on the island to honor the victims.

The helicopter landed on the island shortly after 7 p.m. after a 24-minute flight from an airport in Oceanside, on the California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said it was a terrible tragedy, adding: “The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes.”