2 dead after helicopter crashes in Yosemite during Dome Fire operations

(CNN) — Two members of a helicopter crew battling a wildfire in Yosemite National Park were killed when their aircraft crashed Sunday, according to the US Forest Service.

Precision, LLC, an aviation company known online as Flyprecision, posted Sunday that two members of its team had died.

“We are devastated by this loss and are struggling to find the words,” the company said in a statement.

The Eurocopter AS32 helicopter crashed just before 3 p.m. PT Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The helicopter crew had been contracted to the Forest Service’s Price Valley Rappel Crew in Idaho, but the pilots were conducting suppression operations on the Dome Fire in Yosemite National Park when the aircraft went down, according to Adrienne Freeman, a Forest Service spokesperson. They were the only people on board at the time.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, and the Forest Service will also look into the incident, according to Freeman.

NTSB investigators have not yet reached the scene and will travel there “when fire conditions allow,” according to the agency.

The NTSB said it will post a preliminary report on the incident within 30 days.

The Dome Fire grew by 283 acres Saturday night, according to wildfire authorities, and was 3,222 acres and 15% contained as of Monday morning.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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