Police divers have found the body of a patient who went missing after a medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island near Los Angeles, bringing the death toll to three while two other people were recovering from their injuries, the authorities said on Friday.
Divers with the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department found the victim’s body Thursday in the wreckage of the helicopter after searching more than 156 sq miles (404 sq km) over 23 hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Relatives of the missing person told local TV network ABC7 that the woman was being transported from Catalina Island to the mainland for medical care after having an allergic reaction. They also said her 20-year-old son went with her in the helicopter to help as a language interpreter.
The helicopter with five people onboard went down shortly after takeoff and hit the water not far from the island, officials said. The cause is not clear and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating. First responders pulled four people from the water on Wednesday night.
Robert Luna, the Los Angeles county sheriff, said authorities were not yet identifying the victims by name. But he described two of the people who died as the male pilot and a female nurse. He also said another medic and a fourth person, a man, were hospitalized. Luna said the helicopter wreckage was about 200ft (60m) deep in the water.
The helicopter’s operator, Reach Air Medical Services of Sacramento, confirmed that two of its crew members died and a third was recovering at a hospital. The company declined to provide more details.
A memorial service was held on the island to honor the victims.
The helicopter had landed on the island shortly after 7pm after a 24-minute flight from an airport in Oceanside, on the California coast between Los Angeles and San Diego, according to the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Janice Hahn, the Los Angeles county supervisor, said it was a terrible tragedy, adding: “The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes.”
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