Helicopter crashes carrying heart set for transplant

A US medic carrying a heart for transplant surgery dropped his precious cargo in full view of news cameras, just seconds after the organ was pulled from the wreckage of the helicopter carrying in to the hospital.

The series of unfortunate events began after a helicopter crashed while it was delivering a heart to Los Angeles' Keck Hospital of USC last Friday,

The helicopter crashed on to the helipad on top of the hospital, leaving the pilot with minor injuries.

Two others onboard the aircraft escaped unscathed from the crash, which is now under investigation.

Video from the scene shows the aircraft lying on its side, with the tail hanging over the edge of the helipad.

Emergency services quickly descended on the scene, with rescue crews plucking the heart from the wreckage and handing it to a waiting hospital staffer.

Then, as cameras rolled, the hapless medic appeared to trip on a metal plate and went sprawling, sending the heart tumbling to the ground.

Other staff then rushed to pick up the organ, leaving their colleague to pick himself up as they took the heart inside the hospital for surgery.

In a statement released to media after the crash, hospital officials confirmed that the heart was safe after the slip-up was being transplanted into a patient.

They said they would work with fire and police officials to manage and investigate the accident.

For more information about the helicopter accident at Keck Hospital of USC, please see the attached statement from Keck Medicine of USC. https://t.co/ahS9fzncbk

— Keck Medicine of USC (@KeckMedUSC) November 7, 2020