4 killed in medical helicopter crash in Canada

An air ambulance helicopter went down in Canada's Ontario Province on early Friday morning, killing two pilots and two paramedics onboard. Ornge, Ontario's provider of air ambulance and related services, confirmed that contact with a Sikorsky S76, which belonged to its helicopter fleet, was lost shortly after the chopper took off from its Moosonee base around midnight Thursday. All the four crew members were dead in the crash, while there were no patients on board, Ornge said in a press release. The helicopter was heading to Attawapiskat, a First Nation community, to pick up a patient when it crashed on the James Bay coast of northern Ontario, according to the release. Local media said that Ornge has about 15 to 20 employees in the Moosonee base to serve the remote James Bay communities, some of which can only be reached by air or temporary winter roads. In a statement, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne expressed her condolences over the deaths of the Ornge pilots and paramedics, " who lost their lives ensuring the people of this province receive the help they need." "Their service and sacrifice will be honored and remembered," she added.