Police divers recovered the body of a patient who disappeared after a medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Catalina Island, off the Los Angeles coast. The discovery raised the death toll to three, while two other people remained hospitalized with injuries, authorities said Friday.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department divers located the victim’s body Thursday inside the helicopter wreckage, according to the Coast Guard. Crews searched more than 156 square miles (404 square kilometers) of ocean during a 23-hour operation.
The woman was being flown from Catalina Island to the mainland for medical treatment after suffering an allergic reaction, relatives told ABC7. Her 20-year-old son accompanied her on the flight to help translate, they said.
The helicopter, carrying five people, crashed into the water shortly after taking off from the island, officials said. The cause of the Catalina Island helicopter crash remains unknown, and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
First responders rescued four people from the water on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said authorities had not yet released the victims’ names. He identified the two people who initially died as the male pilot and a female nurse. A medic and another man were taken to hospitals, he said.
Luna said the helicopter came to rest approximately 200 feet (60 meters) beneath the surface.
REACH Air Medical Services, the Sacramento-based operator of the aircraft, confirmed that two members of its crew were killed and a third was recovering in a hospital. The company did not release additional information.
“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 service was held on Catalina Island to remember those who died in the crash.
The Catalina crash occurred 11 days after a firefighting helicopter went down in Yosemite National Park, killing two pilots. It also came two weeks after a news helicopter crashed in Los Angeles, leaving two people dead.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the Catalina crash shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Fire Department said two people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to mainland hospitals in stable condition.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed that the helicopter arrived on the island shortly after 7 p.m., following a 24-minute flight from an airport in Oceanside.
The NTSB identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC-135-P2. A board spokesperson said the helicopter would be transported to a secure facility for examination.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described the crash as a devastating tragedy.
“The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes,” Hahn wrote in a social media post.
