Oregon Public Broadcasting

Three Coast Guard crew members died and one survived after their Jayhawk helicopter crashed off the Washington Coast Wednesday.

Rear Admiral Gary Blore says the chopper was flying from Astoria to Sitka, Alaska.

It appears it flew into power lines strung about 250 feet high between the coastal hamlet of La Push and James Island offshore.

Gary Blore: "Factually, I can tell you the helicopter is in the water. It appears to have landed inverted. There are power lines lying on the beach. Now as to what came first, I don't know. But power lines are down in the area and the aircraft is in the water."

Blore spoke at a press briefing carried by Northwest Cable News.

Blore says the surviving crew member is being treated in a Seattle hospital for injuries including a broken arm and leg. The survivor and one of his dead crewmates were quickly plucked from the ocean waters by boaters in the area.

The Coast Guard says it will release the names and home towns of the Sitka-based crew after it has notified the families of the dead.