Spirit Helicopter Crash Kills Three In Northern Wisconsin

Three people were killed when a medical helicopter crashed in northern Wisconsin.

The Oneida County Sheriff's Office confirmed the three fatalities on Friday, according to the Associated Press. Chief Deputy Dan Hess said the crash involved an Ascension Wisconsin Spirit helicopter, but he said he doesn't know if the three victims were all Ascension employees.

Hess says search and rescue crews reached the crash scene Friday. The helicopter was reported missing late Thursday night, and a search was launched. Crews say the helicopter was found in Hazelhurst, a small town about 150 miles northwest of Green Bay.

The Eurocopter AS350 helicopter left Madison on its way to Howard Young Medical Center and crashed about 12 miles south of the destination, according to the Wausau Daily Herald. 

A witness who drove search crews to the scene on an amphibious all-terrain vehicle says the chopper went down in a heavily wooded area with high ridges and some swamps.