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MIAMI — One man was killed and two others were critically injured Wednesday when their helicopter crashed into Biscayne Bay near Miami, officials said.
The Robinson R44 II helicopter went down late Wednesday morning near Bill Baggs State Park, off Key Biscayne, while on a trip to record boats on the water, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said.
Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said during an afternoon news conference that the two survivors were taken to a nearby trauma center in critical but stable condition.
Rescue workers from several local agencies, as well as the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, responded to the crash.
When the sheriff’s office marine patrol units reached the scene, they reported finding a good Samaritan trying to help one of the victims and take him to shore. Miami firefighters attempted to save his life, but he didn’t survive, Cordero-Stutz said.
Meanwhile, border protection officers found the two other men from the helicopter and turned them over to Miami-Dade rescue workers for transport to the hospital.
Cordero-Stutz said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. South Florida has experienced heavy showers over the past few days, but it wasn’t known if the weather contributed to the crash.
Television news video of the crash shows the aircraft upside down underwater with two yellow floats attached to the bottom of its landing skids. Those emergency floats are designed to help keep a helicopter afloat in a water landing.
Officials didn’t immediately identify the helicopter’s occupants. The sheriff said they were still working to notify family members.
On Sunday, nine people died when a Learjet plummeted into the ground near West Palm Beach, Florida, with enough force to create a crater and pulverize the airplane. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating that crash.
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