Five people, including basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria, were killed when a helicopter crashed along a hillside near Calabasas on Sunday morning, authorities and TMZ and Variety reported.
The crash, in the area of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street, was called in at 9:47 a.m., according to a watch commander at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lost Hills/Malibu station.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed the crash and also noted a fire on the mountain. Authorities are asking people to avoid the area.
Bryant, 41, was a passenger on the helicopter, Variety said. Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board, according to TMZ.
Representatives for Bryant told TMZ Bryant and his daughter, nicknamed GiGi, were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice at the time of the crash. The Academy is in Thousand Oaks.
“Kobe has famously used a helicopter to travel for years — dating back to when he played for the Lakers. He was known for commuting from Newport Beach, CA to the STAPLES Center in DTLA in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper,” It was reported.
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