The mysterious New Jersey drones being investigated by the FBI recently kept a medevac helicopter from transporting a seriously injured patient to the hospital, it emerged Thursday.
The medical helicopter was flying to an accident in Branchburg Township in Somerset County on Tuesday last week — but was unable to pick up the crash victim due to drones hovering in the landing zone, officials told NJ.com.
Two security officers from Raritan Valley Community College closed roads to secure the crash site in preparation for the helicopter to land, Brian Serge, supervisor of security at the public college, told the outlet.
But the request was canceled by the local fire captain just before 7 p.m. due to the hazardous presence of drones, he said.
“We never found out what the actual drones were,” Serge said. “It’s kind of a mystery. We were asking around about that, but nobody knew anything.”
It comes after a flurry of other drone sightings over the past two weeks in Central New Jersey — not far from President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course.
The drones have been spotted hovering in groups for hours in the vicinity of the Raritan River on a nightly basis of late. One Parsippany woman claimed she saw up to five of the mysterious aircraft buzzing overhead Sunday night.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued two temporary flight restrictions over Morris and Somerset County following multiple reports of the unusual aircraft activity in the airspace over Trump National Golf Club Bedminster as well as US Army hub Picatinny Arsenal in nearby Dover, NJ.
The FAA said it received reports as far back as Nov. 18. The FBI requested the restrictions “out of an abundance of caution,” an agency spokesperson said.
The restrictions will remain in effect until Dec. 26.
The FBI has also asked witnesses to send in high-resolution photos they’ve captured of the “questionable flights” to their office for further review.
It was unclear if the Branchburg patient was taken to the hospital by ambulance or by a helicopter landing in a different location, according to NJ.com.