WATCH: Wild Footage Captures Helicopter Crash In Popular Beach Destination

An investigation by aviation regulators is underway after harrowing footage showed a helicopter crashing into a structure just steps away from Huntington Beach over the weekend.

The popular California destination turned nightmarish when the vehicle crashed into a staircase, barely missing a person who was recording and two others who clung to the railing. Bystander video showed multiple people rushing to aid the passengers and victims, all of whom miraculously survived.

Five people were injured as a result of the incident, including a child who was trapped beneath the wreckage.

“At this time, the two people who were in the helicopter have been safely pulled from the wreckage, and three people on the street have sustained injuries,” Huntington Beach Police Department spokesperson Corbin Carson said at a press conference. “All five individuals are being transported to the hospital for treatment.”

It remains unclear what caused the helicopter to lose power and veer in circles before hurtling into the side of a building. People can be heard screaming as debris from the crash whips across the air.

Witnesses told KTLA that the helicopter’s tail rotor detached moments before it crashed into the Waterfront Beach Resort, taking down palm trees and portions of a pedestrian bridge spanning the Pacific Coast Highway.

Authorities have not provided updates on the injured parties, two of whom were riding in the helicopter when it crashed. The station contacted the organizer of a related GoFundMe campaign who said the child injured in the crash is her brother.

The Orange County Register spoke with Jerry Miller of Redlands who said that his son-in-law, Eric Nixon, was piloting the helicopter when it crashed. “He’s in the hospital with some broken ribs, crushed vertebrae and several bruises,” Miller said during a brief phone call Saturday evening. “But I’m sorry, we have some things going on” before terminating the call.

Rancho Cucamonga resident Jackson Etchert was standing about 100 feet away when he saw the crashing light helicopter cast a deadly shadow over his head.

“I noticed when the second one came, it was spinning weird,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Hmm, I wonder if it’s doing a trick.’ Then, I saw it spinning even faster, and I’m like, ‘Nope, that thing is crashing.’”

As he observed, “First the tail rotor snapped. Next thing I know I see something looked like it hit the main rotor blade.”