5 dead in Catalina Island plane crash; investigation underway

Five people are dead after a twin-engine plane crashed on Catalina Island Tuesday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Just after 8 p.m., deputies at the sheriff’s Avalon station on the island received a 911 emergency notification from a cellphone alerting them that the phone had been involved in a collision that involved injuries and sent them GPS coordinates, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Crews from Avalon, Los Angeles County Fire and the sheriff’s department joined in a search and found the plane about a mile west of Catalina Island Airport, according to the release.

Five adults were found dead at the scene. No additional information is currently available.