Search covered 156 square miles over 23 hours, Coast Guard says

Los Angeles County sheriff’s divers on Thursday recovered the body of a patient who had been missing since a medical helicopter crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, bringing the death toll to three while two others remained hospitalized, authorities said Friday. Divers with the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department found the victim in the wreckage after a search that covered more than 156 square miles over 23 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.

The helicopter, operated by Reach Air Medical Services of Sacramento, went down shortly after takeoff and hit the water not far from the island Wednesday evening with five people aboard, officials said. First responders pulled four people from the water that night. The wreckage lay about 200 feet below the surface, Luna said.

Relatives of the missing patient told ABC7 that the woman had been transported from Catalina Island to the mainland for medical care after suffering an allergic reaction, and that her 20-year-old son had accompanied her on the flight to serve as a language interpreter. Luna said authorities were not yet identifying the victims by name but described two of those who died as the male pilot and a female nurse. He said a medic and a fourth person, a man, were hospitalized.

Reach Air Medical Services, the helicopter’s operator, confirmed that two of its crew members had died and that a third was recovering at a hospital. The company declined to provide further details.

The helicopter had landed on Catalina 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 the flight-tracking service Flightradar24. It went down shortly after a subsequent takeoff from the island.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

A memorial service was held on the island to honor the victims. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called it a “terrible tragedy,” adding: “The people who were on board dedicated their careers to saving lives. They are heroes.”