Helicopter with 5 aboard crashes off Texas coast

A helicopter with five people aboard crashed off the Texas coast on Thursday. Rescue crews have picked up two survivors and continue to search for the others.

A helicopter with five people aboard crashed off the Texas coast on Thursday. Rescue crews have picked up two survivors and continue to search for the others. Coast Guard Petty Officer Renee Aiello said the Coast Guard was alerted after Rotorcraft Leasing Co, a helicopter leasing company in Broussard, Louisiana, reported its pilot had not checked in as scheduled.

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A rescue helicopter crew found the two men and debris in the Gulf of Mexico, about two miles (3.2 kilometers) off the coast. Both men were alive, but their conditions were unknown, the Coast Guard said. The helicopter was headed toward an unmanned oil platform about 18 miles (29 kilometers) offshore, Aiello said.

Sabine Pass is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Houston.