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3 killed, 3 hurt in crash of tour copter off Calif.

LOS ANGELES - A tour helicopter crashed in rainy weather on an island off the Southern California coast yesterday morning, killing three people and injuring three others, a county sheriff's deputy said.

LOS ANGELES - A tour helicopter crashed in rainy weather on an island off the Southern California coast yesterday morning, killing three people and injuring three others, a county sheriff's deputy said.

The helicopter went down on the west end of Santa Catalina Island near Two Harbors, causing a small fire that was quickly doused, authorities said. Helicopters airlifted the three injured to hospitals.

Two of the injured were in critical condition, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said. The crash killed two men and one woman immediately. Their identities were not released.

The Eurocopter AS 350 chopper was a private tour aircraft from Island Express, Deputy Chuck Upton said.

Federal Aviation Administration records show the helicopter departed from Long Beach and was scheduled to return to that city. The crash occurred less than an hour after the helicopter picked up passengers on the island. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

The island is 26 miles west of the California shore, near Los Angeles.

The crash occurred near the Banning House lodge, which overlooks a popular boating spot. A woman who answered the phone at the lodge confirmed reports that the chopper's engine appeared to quit, crashing about 200 to 300 yards inland in grass.

The owner of Island Express had gone to the scene of the crash, said a woman who answered the company's telephone. She declined to give her name or other details.

An Island Express sightseeing chopper made a hard landing on the island in 1999, slightly injuring six tourists.

The company provides charters and tours to the island and other Southern California destinations, according to the company's Web site. The company also does movie and television work and services offshore oil platforms.