Sadly, according to a CNN, one of the crew is in a critical condition.
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Oregon (CNN)
A mission to rescue trapped climbers atop Mount Hood turned into disaster Thursday when a military helicopter crashed on a snowy slope.
The chopper, an Air Force Reserve Pave Hawk, slowly twirled out of control and crashed onto the mountainside. Its rotor blades broke apart and the chopper rolled over several times as it slid downhill.
The helicopter was carrying four people, one of whom was in critical condition after the crash, said Krista Vasquez of CNN affiliate KGW-TV, which captured the crash live.
At least one person was thrown from the aircraft and was run over by the chopper as it rolled in the snow.
The rescuers had been trying to reach three climbers who died and four others who were trapped in a crevasse after they fell while on a climbing expedition earlier in the day, a Clackamas County fire official said.
The climbers were with others in a group just 800 feet from Mount Hood's 11,000 foot summit when they fell, Clackamas County fire Capt. Jamie Karn said. Weather conditions in the Cascade Mountains at the time of the accident were "absolutely beautiful -- a clear, sunny day," Karn said.
No details on the ages or nationalities of the climbers were available.
Rescue workers on the mountainside went immediately to the wreckage to tend to survivors.
"We had one of our rescue helicopters go down, we're not sure of their condition," said Oregon Air National Guard Sgt. Nick Watt. "A rescue operation for the downed chopper was under way."
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Don Shepperd told CNN the gleaming white snow could have diminished the pilot's depth perception, causing him to maneuver the helicopter too close to the mountainside. At such a high altitude, he added, it may become difficult for a helicopter to gain needed lift.
