2:46PM IL: [ALL UPDATES BELOW] First reports spoke of a military chopper down but it now appears a civilian helicopter went down off the coast of Netanya.

CPR was performed on one victim according to reliable yet unconfirmed reports. It appears there are two fatalities. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

2:51PM IL: It appears Hatzolah, MDA and police responded to the call for a chopper crash. Zaka has also been summoned, to deal with two fatalities.

No additional information is being reported from the scene at this time. Inclement weather conditions, heavy rains and winds may have been a contributory factor to the fatal crash.

3:00PM IL: MDA Sharon district dispatchers received calls for a “chopper crash of the Netanya coast,” about a half kilometer out. Eyewitness reports stated the chopper appeared to attempt an emergency landing over the water but crashed. The bodies were brought to the shore and MDA officials pronounced them dead on the scene.

At this time, it is unclear where the chopper flight originated and just how many people were on board. A search is underway for survivors or victims along Sironit Beach. It appears the occupants of the chopper were tourists, but it is unclear why this determination is being made. Rescue officials now believe there were four people on the ill-fated chopper flight.

Civil Air Administration officials are on the scene.

3:40PM IL: Authorities have located the bodies of two other chopper victims. At this time, it is being reported that at least one of the dead is a tourist from the UK.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)