LOS ANGELES: At least three people were killed Tuesday when NBCLA news helicopter crashed into a parking lot in Los Angeles, officials said. Another person was taken to hospital, although their condition was not immediately known.
The crash occurred in Chatsworth, near the site of a separate fatal collision involving a city bus earlier in the day.
Colleen Williams, an NBC4 Los Angeles anchor, confirmed during a live broadcast that the station’s chopper went down just before 7 p.m.
“We are going to take a couple of minutes to think about that, process it,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. Moments later their coverage abruptly cut off.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Captain Branden Silverman said investigators were still trying to determine how many people were aboard the helicopter. At least one of those killed was outside the aircraft when the crash occurred, he said.
The helicopter came down in a parking lot near a large, single-storey building, striking or landing alongside parked vehicles. The aircraft was severely damaged in the impact.
More than 50 firefighters responded to the scene. The resulting fire damaged four vehicles and two storage containers before crews brought it under control Tuesday evening.
“We’re trying to determine how many patients were inside the helicopter,” Silverman said, adding that crews would have to work through the wreckage to establish the full number of victims.
Local media reported that the aircraft was a news helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to lead the investigation into the crash. Officials had not immediately released information about what caused the helicopter to go down.
The helicopter crash occurred hours after another serious accident in Los Angeles.
Earlier Tuesday, an SUV slammed into a city bus, killing two people and injuring six others, according to officials. Images from the scene showed a large section of the SUV embedded in the side of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus as emergency crews worked around the wreckage.
The two incidents occurred in the same area, drawing a major emergency response and raising questions about the circumstances surrounding both crashes.
Officials were continuing to assess the helicopter wreckage and identify the victims as the investigation got under way.
