A medical helicopter drew up on a Sacramento, California state, seriously injuring three people on board.
One of the wounded is a woman who got stuck under the helicopter and was rescued with the help of 15 people who raised part of the device, according to the authorities.
The aircraft had taken a patient to a hospital and was returning to where he had been triggered when he suffered an “air emergency” shortly after 7 pm (local time) this Monday, October 6, said Captain Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department, quoted by the agency AP.
Apparently the helicopter fell upside down and left a jumble of wreckage.
A pilot, a nurse and a paramedic were transported to critical hospitals. No one on the highway was injured, which the fire brigade spokesman dubbed “impressive” as the device fell right in the middle of the highway.
“People reported that they basically saw the helicopter falling quickly. Then all traffic got slow,” said Sylvia.
In images published on social networks, a long row of cars could be seen behind a rugged helicopter on the Sleep 50.
Agent Mike Carrillo, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol Valley division, says “the cause of the accident is still under investigation.”
Sacrament councilwoman Lisa Kaplan said she was in a vehicle with the police that she was watching the accident and that there were clouds of white smoke leaving the rugged helicopter. “It’s really dark and worrying. I’m flying with pilots sheriffs who do this day after day. And that really makes us feel grateful for every day and grateful to our medical officers and pilots,” he said.