Helicopter crash in Los Angeles kills three, injures one

(Bloomberg) — Three people were killed and one injured when a helicopter crashed between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Four patients were treated at the scene, three of whom were pronounced dead, according to the department. The fourth was taken to a local hospital in unknown condition.

One of those killed was a pedestrian in the parking lot, LAFD Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said. The police pulled the person from the fire station, the paramedics pronounced him dead.

It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the helicopter or if anyone else killed was on the ground.

The crash happened hours after three people were killed and six others injured when a sport utility vehicle crashed into the side of a Metro bus in Chatsworth, which is in the San Fernando Valley, north of downtown Los Angeles. The LAFD said it was unclear if the helicopter was related to the bus crash.

The first crew to arrive reported a helicopter down between the buildings, with fire from the crash spreading to four vehicles, the LAFD said. 56 firefighters responded and later extinguished the fire without exposing any structures. Four cars and two storage containers were damaged.

The helicopter was engulfed in flames when crews arrived, Silverman said at an earlier briefing as searchers were still sifting through the wreckage.

The make and type of helicopter were unknown, and it was unclear where the aircraft came from, according to the LAFD.

Silverman also declined to say whether the plane was a news helicopter.

“I don’t want to speculate that it’s a news helicopter because we haven’t confirmed that yet,” he said.

The investigation will be handled by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.

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