Three people died and two others were injured after a tour helicopter plunged into the ocean some 100 yards off Kalalau Beach on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The aircraft, operated by Airborne Aviation, was carrying a pilot and four passengers when it crashed, the Kauai Fire Department said. The helicopter tour agency offers 50-to-55-minute, “doors-off” tours of the region. All five were pulled from the water, and the two survivors were taken to Wilcox Medical Center for treatment, police said. Authorities were alerted at about 3.45 p.m. local time that the aircraft had crashed into the ocean, and multiple agencies, including the Kauai Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and American Medical Response, scrambled to the scene. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has urged people to steer clear of the area due to aircraft wreckage and potential helicopter fuel and oil. “Containment and recovery efforts are underway,” the department said.
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