MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Stunned beachgoers shared their accounts of the helicopter crash landing South Beach that sent two people to the hospital.
Among those looking up in disbelief near 10th Street, Saturday afternoon, were father and daughter Wade and Avery Callison.
“It’s a little bit low, like, what’s going on?” said Avery.
The witnesses said they saw it all go down from a nearby sandbar.
“This isn’t real. What just happened? Because it was just above, and we were going like, ‘Oh, what if it came down? What if it’s doing an emergency landing? What’s happening?'” said Avery. “Then, next thing you know, we see it, and we go, ‘Oh, my goodness.'”
Beachgoer Anna Diaz said she was swimming when her family noticed the helicopter flying too close.
“My family was calling me, like, ‘Anna, come, come, come!'” she said.
Diaz said she looked up and realized she was right in the chopper’s path.
“I was worried, and then I start swimming towards my family,” she said.
Seconds later, the aircraft smashed into the water.
Good Samaritans swam to save the pilot and two passengers on board, while beachgoers were seen standing in their towels and running in the ocean as they tried to catch a glimpse of the chopper belly up in the water.
“Like an entire beach of people that crowded the shore,” said Avery.
Cheers broke out for the swimmers who helped get the survivors back on land, as police closed off the beach.
Two of the occupants inside the helicopter were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
Latecomers were shocked to see video of the crash and its immediate aftermath.
“Holy cow. In the water too, huh? Everybody OK?” said a beachgoer.
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