Two helicopters collided midair while fighting fires in Southern California on Sunday, causing one to crash and killing everyone on board, according to The Associated Press.
The second helicopter was able to land after the crash. No one on that helicopter was injured.
Cal Fire’s southern region chief, David Fulcher, said at a news conference early Monday that the cause of the collision was not yet clear.
The firefighting helicopters were responding to a blaze in a building in Riverside County that had spread to nearby grasslands when they collided around 6 p.m. local time, according to KTLA-TV.
One aircraft was an “observer helicopter” coordinating the firefight. A Cal Fire division chief, a Cal Fire captain and a pilot who was contracted to fly the helicopter were killed.
According to The Washington Post, the other aircraft was a water-dropping helicopter with two crew members onboard.
“I would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and co-workers of the personnel. This was a tragic loss,” Fulcher said, without identifying the victims. “We have lost three great individuals. Three fathers, three husbands, three friends.”
