A civilian medical evacuation helicopter crashed into the Potomac River last night, killing two of the three crew members on board, according to authorities. It appeared that no patients were on board at the time.
The Life Evac helicopter went down south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, near Belle Haven Marina in Fairfax County, a few minutes before midnight, apparently while returning from Washington to its base in Stafford County, about 40 miles south.
The survivor was found floating in the water near the middle of the river, according to Alan Etter, a spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.
The two victims were inside the helicopter, which apparently sank, authorities said. None of the three occupants of the helicopter was identified immediately, and no cause of the crash could be learned.
However, the survivor told rescuers that he believed the helicopter hit some object before plunging into the river, Etter said.
The helicopter came down in the center of the river, which is at least a mile and a half wide at points south of the bridge, Etter said.
A dispatcher for the Life Evac system, reached early today by telephone, said the organization was trying to confirm reports of the crash. However, the dispatcher said that a Life Evac helicopter with a three-member crew was returning late last night from Washington to Stafford County.
A Web site for the helicopter service said it was affiliated with Virginia Commonwealth University. Crews on each mission consist of one flight nurse and a flight paramedic team.
The two people who died were described by authorities as a man and a woman. Their bodies apparently were located in the submerged wreckage by divers who were part of a vast turnout of police and fire departments that joined the search and rescue effort.
A variety of helicopters take to the skies above the Washington area daily, for purposes that include law enforcement, search and rescue, and medical evacuations.
Many of them use the Potomac River as a principal north-and-south route to avoid flying over congested neighborhoods and to minimize noise. Last night's incident was the first crash of a medical services helicopter in recent memory.
