Medevac Helicopter Crash Off Catalina Island Leaves 2 Dead
Medevac Helicopter Crash 2 Dead, 1 Missing in Catalina Island Disaster
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A helicopter with 5 people aboard crashed into the water off SoCal's Catalina Island, leaving 2 dead ... and, ironically, the chopper was in the middle of a mission to save a patient.
Four of the medevac helicopter's occupants were pulled from the water Wednesday night in joint efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard, local fire departments and L.A. County Sheriff's Office just before 8 PM.
The chopper had just taken off from Catalina, heading back to mainland California, when it went down ... according to officials.
While 2 were pronounced dead at the crash scene near Avalon -- the main town on the island -- a different chopper airlifted 2 survivors to hospitals on the mainland.
At least one of them arrived on a rooftop helipad at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
As for the missing passenger ... an L.A. County Fire spokesperson said, "This remains an active scene with search and rescue operations continuing throughout the night."
No word on what caused the medevac chopper to go down ... that investigation is ongoing.
