News

Actions

Searchers seek 3 thought on planes that collided near Los Angeles

Posted at 9:23 PM, Feb 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-06 13:20:38-05

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A more extensive search resumed Saturday for survivors of a midair collision that sent at least one plane plunging into the ocean near the Port of Los Angeles.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson says a helicopter took off around 6:30 a.m. Saturday to scour a 200-square-mile area a couple of miles from a harbor entrance.

There’s no word on what it found but Anderson says there’s still an active search for three people who are believed to have bee in the planes.

Authorities says two men, ages 61 and 81, were aboard a plane that radar showed colliding Friday afternoon with an aircraft piloted by a 72-year-old woman.

The Coast Guard says the midair collision took place around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

There were reports of debris about two miles outside the harbor breakwater.

Los Angeles County lifeguard Capt. Ken Haskett says divers have found a plane tail number and a partial number from a second plane in the water.

About two dozen divers are working at the site but the wreckage may be at the bottom in 80 to 90 feet of water.