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Tag: rescuer

  • Midair helicopter crash in New Jersey leaves 1 dead and another critically injured

    Two helicopters crashed midair in New Jersey on Sunday, killing one person and critically injuring another, authorities say.Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft. One was killed, and the other was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.“It was shocking,” he said. “I’m still shaking after that happened.”Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash, Friel said.Investigators will likely first look to review any communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB.“Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call ‘see and avoid,’” Diehl said. “Clearly they’ll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.”Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather.

    Two helicopters crashed midair in New Jersey on Sunday, killing one person and critically injuring another, authorities say.

    Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

    The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft. One was killed, and the other was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

    Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.

    “It was shocking,” he said. “I’m still shaking after that happened.”

    Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).

    The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash, Friel said.

    Investigators will likely first look to review any communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB.

    “Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call ‘see and avoid,’” Diehl said. “Clearly they’ll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.”

    Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather.

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  • Snowstorm traps hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest

    Rescuers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said.About 350 hikers had reached a meeting point in Tingri country and rescuers were in contact with another 200, state broadcaster CCTV said late Sunday. There was no immediate update on rescue efforts on Monday.The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 16,000 feet, according to an earlier report from Jimu News, a Chinese online site. Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet tall.A hiker who rushed to descend before snow blocked the way told Jimu News that others still on the mountain told him the snow was 3 feet deep and had crushed tents.Hundreds of rescuers headed up the mountain Sunday to clear paths so that trapped people could come down, the Jimu report said. A video shot by a villager showed a long line of people with horses and oxen moving up a winding path in the snow.The snowstorm struck during a weeklong national holiday in China, when many travel at home and abroad.In another mountainous region in western China, one hiker died of hypothermia and altitude sickness and 137 others were evacuated in the north part of Qinghai province, CCTV said Monday.The search in an area in Menyuan county with an average altitude of more than 13,100 feet was complicated by the terrain, unpredictable weather and continuous snowfall, a CCTV online report said.Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in Chinese, straddles the border between China and Nepal, where recent heavy rains have left more than 40 people dead.Climbers attempt to scale the world’s tallest peak from base camps in both countries. The base camp for climbers is separate from the tourist camp where hikers were trapped by the snowfall.A strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in the same area in January.The Chinese side of Everest is in Tibet, a remote western region where the government has cracked down harshly on dissent and poured in funds for economic development including roads and tourism.The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled during a failed uprising in 1959 and lives in India, where some Tibetans have set up a government in exile.

    BEIJING —

    Rescuers were helping hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet, Chinese state media said.

    About 350 hikers had reached a meeting point in Tingri country and rescuers were in contact with another 200, state broadcaster CCTV said late Sunday. There was no immediate update on rescue efforts on Monday.

    The hikers were trapped at an elevation of more than 16,000 feet, according to an earlier report from Jimu News, a Chinese online site. Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet tall.

    A hiker who rushed to descend before snow blocked the way told Jimu News that others still on the mountain told him the snow was 3 feet deep and had crushed tents.

    Hundreds of rescuers headed up the mountain Sunday to clear paths so that trapped people could come down, the Jimu report said. A video shot by a villager showed a long line of people with horses and oxen moving up a winding path in the snow.

    The snowstorm struck during a weeklong national holiday in China, when many travel at home and abroad.

    In another mountainous region in western China, one hiker died of hypothermia and altitude sickness and 137 others were evacuated in the north part of Qinghai province, CCTV said Monday.

    The search in an area in Menyuan county with an average altitude of more than 13,100 feet was complicated by the terrain, unpredictable weather and continuous snowfall, a CCTV online report said.

    Mount Everest, known as Mount Qomolangma in Chinese, straddles the border between China and Nepal, where recent heavy rains have left more than 40 people dead.

    Climbers attempt to scale the world’s tallest peak from base camps in both countries. The base camp for climbers is separate from the tourist camp where hikers were trapped by the snowfall.

    A strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in the same area in January.

    The Chinese side of Everest is in Tibet, a remote western region where the government has cracked down harshly on dissent and poured in funds for economic development including roads and tourism.

    The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled during a failed uprising in 1959 and lives in India, where some Tibetans have set up a government in exile.

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  • Teen disappears off Huntington Beach after nighttime swim

    Teen disappears off Huntington Beach after nighttime swim

    Officials on Monday were searching for a teenager who disappeared while swimming in Huntington Beach on Sunday night.

    Two swimmers went into the water, but only one returned, according to Huntington Beach public information officer Jennifer Carey. There were strong rip currents earlier in the day, she said.

    The U.S. Coast Guard began searching around 9:45 p.m. for the 15-year-old boy, who was last seen near Lifeguard Tower 11, according to Coast Guard public affairs specialist Richard Uranga. The Huntington Beach Fire Department has also assisted in the search.

    A water search was called off about 10:40 p.m., Carey said, but the search continued on land and in the air.

    The Coast Guard’s air and patrol units and its response boats have been searching the area. The search is expected to continue until at least Monday afternoon, Uranga said, when the Coast Guard captain and search-and-rescue coordinator will decide whether efforts will be suspended.

    The missing teen hasn’t been publicly identified, but Uranga said he’s an Orange County resident.

    City News Service contributed to this report.

    Summer Lin

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