India, Oct. 2 -- The quiet waters off California's Catalina Island became the centre of a major overnight rescue operation after a medical helicopter plunged into the Pacific, leaving two people dead, two others hospitalised and a fifth person missing.

The crash happened shortly after the aircraft left the island for the mainland on Wednesday evening, prompting a large response from the U.S. Coast Guard, Los Angeles County firefighters, sheriff's deputies and other emergency crews.

Catalina Medevac Crash: Helicopter Crashes Near Pebbly Beach

The crash happened around 7:50 p.m. Wednesday near Pebbly Beach, close to Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, which sits roughly 22 miles off the Los Angeles County mainland. Authorities initially rec...