Helicopter crash in eastern Utah mountains

LA SAL, Utah. (KJCT) - Update: 3:45 p.m. – In an update the sheriff’s office said all three people in the crash were rescued by the Utah DPS helicopter crew.

They were taken to a staging area and were cleared by Grand County ambulance personnel. The sheriff’s office says the people in the crash only had minor bruises.

The helicopter that crashed was on a wildlife mission tranquilizing mountain goats, putting tracking collars on them and drawing blood. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office says its unknown what caused the crash. That will be investigated by the FAA and NTSB.

Initial story – The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office says a helicopter crashed in the La Sal Mountains late Thursday morning.

Search and rescue crews are working to get to the scene of the crash. The sheriff’s office says the three people on board the helicopter weren’t injured, but because of the steep terrain in the area, they haven’t been able to get to them yet. That’s as of about 2 p.m. Thursday.

At about 11 a.m. a witness described seeing the helicopter crash in the mountains in northeastern San Juan County but didn’t see any smoke or fire. Rescue crews responded to the area and were able to figure out the helicopter was a Division of Wildlife Resources wildlife capture helicopter, and that the crew was capturing wildlife in the area, that’s according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.

A Utah Department of Public Safety rescue crew is working with their own helicopter to get to the crash site right now.