Los Angeles County Fire personnel confirmed an adult male died on Saturday, Sept. 30 following a fall from a helicopter in the ocean somewhere off the Malibu Pier. It was not clear whether the deceased jumped or fell from the helicopter.
“We don’t know how he wound up getting from the helicopter to the water,” Supervising Fire Dispatcher Bernard Peters said Saturday. “We got a call at about 1:20 (p.m.) from Santa Monica Fire.” Los Angeles County ocean and land rescue teams were deployed.
The man, who was described as an adult male, was pronounced dead after water rescue crews brought him back to land “within the hour.” He was brought back to land “somewhere near the Malibu Pier,” Peters described.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation Saturday afternoon into the details of the incident. Peters could not provide information about the helicopter, except to say it was not a medical or “relief” helicopter.
“We know it was a helicopter based out of another airport. We don’t have confirmation,” Peters said. It wasn’t a medical helicopter. It was a privately owned or owned by a corporation.”
More information about the deceased was not immediately available.