Helicopter crash off Catalina Island kills 2 people, leaves 2 hospitalized and 1 missing – 10News.com

Helicopter crash off Catalina Island kills 2 people, leaves 2 hospitalized and 1 missing  10News.com

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, authorities said 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 square miles (404 square kilometers) over 23 hours, the Coast Guard said in a statement.Relatives of the missing person told 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 translate.The helicopter with five people aboard 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 is investigating.First responders pulled four people from the water on Wednesday night.Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that authorities were not yet identifying the victims by name. But he described the two 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 200