Two firefighting helicopters collide in California, killing three

Two helicopters collided late on Sunday while fighting a blaze in California's Riverside County near Cabazon, killing three people, multiple news outlets reported on Monday.

The blaze began on Sunday evening as a structure fire spread into nearby vegetation, CalFire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher told a news briefing.

The first helicopter landed safely after the collision but the second one crashed, killing all three people who were on board, CNN reported, citing the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's (CalFire) Southern Region Chief David Fulcher.

The crew included a contracted pilot, a CalFire division chief and a captain, CNN said, citing Fulcher. It wasn't clear immediately if the captain worked for CalFire.

The Riverside County Sheriff had responded to an air emergency at Cabazon late on Sunday involving a crash at the location, it said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

At 7:20 pm, RSO deputies responded to the area of Pipeline Road and Apache Trail in #Cabazon reference an air emergency. 1 plane crashed at the location. The circs surrounding the crash are unknown at this time. The investigation is ongoing. All updates will be posted here.

— Riverside County Sheriff (@RSO) August 7, 2023

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will provide all future updates on the crash, the Sheriff's office added.

The Riverside County Fire Department and NTSB did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.