Kobe Bryant died in helicopter crash

Kobe Bryant

, the retired basketball player and four other people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas , California , on Sunday morning, the city of Calabasas reported.

“It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Kobe Bryant and four others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. The aircraft went down in a remote field off Las Virgenes around 10:00 this morning. Nobody on the ground was hurt,” the city of Calabas said on Twitter .

On Twitter, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said that five people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas , about 65 km northwest of Los Angeles , and that there were no survivors. It did not identify the victims .

First responders put out the flames of the crash site, the sheriff’s department said, posting a picture of a fire truck and smoke emerging from the brush in a ravine.

The U .S. Federal Aviation Administration identified the crashed helicopter as a Sikorsky S-76 and added that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the incident.

won five NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers . He was an 18-times NBA All-Star who wore the No. 24 during his 20-year career with the team.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa , have four daughters.

Hours after the tragic accident, it was reported that Gianna , Kobe Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter , was also on the helicopter that crashed near Los Angeles .

Minutes ago, L.A. officials held a news conference on the helicopter crash and confirmed nine people died in the crash.

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