One person died, power lines were down and a small fire was ignited after a helicopter crashed in Santa Paula Friday morning, according to the Ventura County Fire Department .
Reports of a helicopter down in the 900 block of Corporation Street (map) were made around 10:15 a.m., Officer Robert Navarro with the Ventura fire department stated.
Authorities were searching for additional victims as of 11 a.m., he said.
Southern California Edison was responding to the scene due to downed power lines, he added.
The lines were down across a river where a spot fire was also reported, a Ventura County fire Facebook post stated.
A photo from the scene showed the wreckage in the sandy bed of the Santa Clara River, and the county Sheriff’s Office stated on Twitter that the helicopter went down west of the 12th Street bridge.
Units from Santa Paula and Ventura County were at the scene, according to the Facebook post.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were sending investigators to the scene, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
The crash of the two-seat Robinson R22 occurred under “unknown circumstances” 3 miles west of the Santa Paula Airport, according to Gregor, who said his information was preliminary.
