Three people died Tuesday evening when a news helicopter operated for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 crashed in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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The helicopter went down shortly before 7 p.m. near the 9100 block of Mason Avenue, where television crews had gathered to cover an earlier deadly collision involving a Metro bus and an SUV. The aircraft struck the area between commercial buildings and caught fire.
Authorities have not announced a cause for the accident.
Firefighters responded to the crash and extinguished the flames. The Los Angeles Fire Department said one of the helicopter crash victims died outside the aircraft. Authorities initially had not determined where the other two victims died.
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NBC4 confirmed during a live broadcast Tuesday night that the helicopter belonged to the station. The aircraft carried reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, according to NBC and authorities. Both died in the crash.
The helicopter operated under Angel City Air, which provided aerial news coverage for NBC4 and Telemundo 52. The two stations confirmed the deaths and expressed condolences to the victims’ families and colleagues.
The crash also injured people near the scene. Authorities took at least one person to a hospital after the helicopter went down, while other reports said two people received hospital treatment.
More than 70 firefighters responded to the incident, according to authorities. The crash also damaged or ignited nearby vehicles and storage containers, adding to the emergency response.
Mayor Karen Bass spoke out about the tragic event. She wrote, “I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash.”
Governor Gavin Newsom also made a statement. He wrote, “Our hearts are with the victims and families of tonight’s devastating Metro bus and helicopter crashes in Chatsworth, and with the entire NBC4 family.”
Federal investigators will examine the circumstances that caused the aircraft to go down. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.