At least five people were injured Saturday afternoon when a helicopter crashed in California's Huntington Beach. The wrecked aircraft got tangled and dangled from several palm trees near the Pacific Coast Highway, authorities said.
The Huntington Beach Police Department and Fire Department responded to the crash at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Huntington Street. Two people were reportedly pulled from the helicopter, while three others were injured on the street. All five individuals were transported to local hospitals. Their conditions have not been released.
Videos uploaded online show the helicopter spinning sideways as its rear rotor appeared to fail. The aircraft plummeted toward the ground but was partially cushioned by a row of palm trees at the edge of the beach. One of the trees snapped and fell onto the helicopter, leaving it trapped beneath the fallen trunk. First responders and dozens of bystanders rushed to the scene.
The tail snapped off in the crash. The aircraft ended up lodged between the palm trees and the outdoor stairway of the pedestrian bridge that runs over Pacific Coast Highway to the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa.
"You can hear this odd sound that didn't sound right. I looked out and I see the helicopter spiralling out of control. My friend saw shrapnel, or just debris, catapulting across Pacific Coast Highway," a man who saw the crash told CBS News.
Police confirmed that the helicopter was associated with the annual "Cars 'N Copters" fundraising event, scheduled to take place Sunday. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
