United States: One Dead, One Injured After Police Helicopter Crashes in California

The helicopter crash-landed in the Newport Beach area in Orange County at around 6:30 p.m. local time (0230 GMT Sunday), according to the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD).

Dead (Representational Image | IANS)

California, February 20: One pilot died and another was injured after a police helicopter crashed Saturday night in the western US state of California, authorities have said. The helicopter crash-landed in the Newport Beach area in Orange County at around 6:30 p.m. local time (0230 GMT Sunday), according to the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD).

"It is with tremendous sorrow that we announce the passing of Officer Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of HBPD. Officer Vella died this evening after our police helicopter, HB-1, crashed into the waters off Newport while responding to a call for service," said the department in a statement posted on its Facebook page, adding that a second officer was injured and is in stable condition. Russia-Ukraine Conflict: US President Joe Biden Believes Vladimir Putin Has Decided to Invade Ukraine.

A witness at the scene told KABC-TV, the West Coast flagship station of the ABC television network, that people saw the helicopter spinning and descending rapidly into the water. US Hopes India Will Support America if Russia Attacks Ukraine.

Officials said the department's other helicopters will be grounded for inspections and an investigation will be carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Orange County Sheriff's Department Major Accident Reconstruction Team.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

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