4 killed in medical helicopter crash in North Carolina

A medical helicopter crashed Friday in North Carolina, killing four people, the Highway Patrol said.

The Duke Life Flight helicopter went down around 11:45 a.m. near the town of Belvidere, close to the Virginia border and about 160 miles (260 kilometers) east of Raleigh, patrol spokesman Master Trooper

Christopher Knox said.

Knox said it's not known where the helicopter was headed when it went down and authorities have no idea what caused the crash.

The Duke Life Flight web page says its helicopters usually have two critical care providers and a pilot onboard and can carry only one patient at a time.

Knox said the Federal Aviation Administration has been notified and state troopers are on the scene to secure the site.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation into the crash and will determine the cause.

Duke University Health System spokeswoman Samiha Khanna said in an email that officials are confirming information related to the crash and would provide more details as they became available.