Two people were killed in the crash of a medical helicopter off Santa Catalina Island Wednesday evening.
Two were pronounced dead at the scene when a medical helicopter crashed into the waters near Avalon on Catalina Island shortly after takeoff around 7:55 p.m. Wednesday night, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson told KTLA.
Rescue crews were searching for one person in the water who was unaccounted for following the crash, the fire department said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said at least five people had initially gone into the water following the crash.
An unknown number of victims were airlifted to UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center following the crash.
The Coast Guard has deployed a 45-foot response boat-medium and a helicopter crew to conduct the search, a Coast Guard spokesperson told City News Service.
REACH Air Medical Services confirmed to ABC7 that one of its helicopters was involved in the incident.