CATALINA ISLAND, CA — Search crews have recovered the body of the missing passenger from a medical helicopter that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, raising the death toll to three. Two other people who were on board were still recovering from injuries as authorities continued piecing together what happened after the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff.
Police divers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department found the body Thursday inside the wreckage, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The discovery came after a broad search that covered more than 156 square miles over 23 hours. Officials said the helicopter had five people aboard when it crashed into the water near the island.
Recovery effort stretched across a wide search area near Catalina Island
The Coast Guard said the search spread across a large section of water as crews worked overnight and into the next day. The recovery effort was complicated by the location of the wreckage, which Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said was about 200 feet underwater.
First responders pulled four people from the ocean on Wednesday night after the crash. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were taken to hospitals on the mainland in stable condition, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The missing passenger was later located in the wreckage by sheriff’s divers…