3 killed after firefighting helicopters collide mid-air in California

Three people were killed Sunday night after two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air while battling a structure fire in Southern California, the authorities said on Monday, reported Xinhua.

The collision occurred in Cabazon, an unincorporated community in Riverside County, which is about 140 km east of downtown Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

"The first helicopter was able to land safely nearby. Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed, and tragically, all three members perished," Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher said Monday morning in a press briefing livestreamed on Twitter.

The victims included one Cal Fire division chief, one fire captain and one contract pilot.

Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department resources had been dispatched to the blaze, that extended to the surrounding vegetation and a full wildland fire dispatch was initiated, which included fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, according to Fulcher.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that it is investigating the mid-air collision between a Bell 407 helicopter and a Sikorsky S-64E helicopter.