Three men were killed in a collision between two helicopters involved in firefighting efforts over a brush fire in Cabazon Sunday night.
The crash took place about 6 p.m. in the Cabazon area, just south of the Morongo Casino. The area near the collision site is situated just south of the 10 Freeway.
A Bell helicopter flown by a contract pilot with a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection division chief and a Cal Fire air captain on board was in an observer-coordinator role when it collided with a Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter while battling the brush fire, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. All three men on the Bell helicopter died. Two people on the Sikorsky, which landed safely, were uninjured.
The Sikorsky is believed to have been dropping water or fire retardant during the brush fire response. Fixed-wing aircraft were also part of the firefighting effort.The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to determine the factors that led to the mid-air collision. "This sacrifice should not be in vain, that we think about them, we will be there to support them," said Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher in a news conference. "We will be there today, and I can express that [Riverside County Fire] Chief Bill Weiser has met with two of the family members and we are working on meeting with the third. We just want to let them know that we are there for them.
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