None of the occupants survived. Three people died when two helicopters collided while fighting a fire in California, a local fire department official said Monday. The devices had been deployed to put out flames from a fire in Cabazon, some 130 km east of Los Angeles, and collided on Sunday evening, the chief of the fire services of the city said. region, David Fulcher, at a press conference.
“The first helicopter was able to land safely in the vicinity. Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed and its three occupants died,” he said. Two firefighters, a department head and a captain, are among the victims as well as a contract pilot.
A hectare of fire
The blaze covered more than one hectare of land when firefighters responded and the two helicopters were part of a six-aircraft squadron called to the scene. An investigation into the accident has been initiated by the authorities in charge of transport safety in the United States.
This fatal accident occurs 11 months after the crash of another fire helicopter, which injured three, a few kilometers from Cabazon. Struck for more than 20 years by drought, the American West is particularly vulnerable to fires, which have intensified in recent years. The frequency and strength of these fires are exacerbated by global warming.