Retired basketball star Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Bryant was travelling with at eight other people in his private helicopter when it went down, according to multiple media sources in the US.
Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna also died in the crash, according to TMZ. They were reportedly en route to her basketball practice in Thousand Oaks.
The Los Angeles County sheriff has confirmed nine bodies were found at the scene, but have so far refused to identify any of those on board.
Kobe Bryant kisses his daughter Gianna after the last NBA basketball game of his career in 2016. Both were on board the doomed helicopter. Source: AP
The city of Calabasas confirmed the NBA legend's death via Twitter.
“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.
The Los Angeles County sheriff earlier tweeted “five people confirmed deceased, no survivors” in the helicopter crash in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley.
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna watch during the national championships swimming meet in 2018. Source: AAP
But officials later revised the death toll to nine.
Bryant, 41, was known to use a helicopter for travel dating to his days as a star player for the Los Angeles Lakers when he commuted to games in a Sikorsky S-76 chopper.
The US Federal Aviation Administration identified the crashed helicopter as a Sikorsky S-76, saying in a statement that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate.
LA county firefighters on the scene of the helicopter crash that reportedly killed Kobe Bryant in Calabasas. Source: Reuters
Police said the helicopter had come down in steep, difficult terrain and emergency services remained on the scene.
Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, had four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
The basketball star spent his entire 20-year career with the LA Lakers, winning five NBA championships and
Former LA Lakers' forward Kobe Bryant has died. Source: AP
Six-time NFL Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was among the first to react on Twitter: "We miss you already Kobe", while retired NBA star Dwyane Wade wrote: "Nooooooooooo God please No!".
Philadelphia 76er Joel Embiid tweeted: "Man I don't even know where to start???? I started playing ball because of KOBE after watching the 2010 finals. I had never watched ball before that and that finals was the turning point of my life. I WANTED TO BE LIKE KOBE. I'm so FREAKING SAD right now!!!! RIP LEGEND."
Smoke rises from crash site. Source: Supplied
Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt simply tweeted. "Still can't believe @kobebryant."
Three-time tennis Grand Slam winner Andy Murray said on Instagram: "This has hit me hard. Thinking of all his family, friends and colleagues."
NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California. Source: AP
Former England football great Gary Lineker wrote on Twitter: "Oh no. How awful. One of the greatest sportsmen of our lifetime. Utterly tragic", while current England forward Raheem Sterling wrote: "Rest easy Legend".
Bryant's own last tweet was praising LeBron James, who had just surpassed him on the NBA's all-time points scoring list. James is now the third behind Kareem Abdul Jabar and Karl Malone.
Bryant’s star power translated into the entertainment world. Source: AP
"Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644," he tweeted on Saturday.
Drafted in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia - a rarity in the NBA at the time for a player to skip college - Bryant was traded to the Lakers where he became a fan favourite overnight. He wore both numbers 8 and 24 for the Lakers and was voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and went on to win two gold medals with the USA Men's Basketball team in 2008 and 2012.
Alongside Shaquille O'Neal and legendary coach Phil Jackson, Bryant helped revitalise Hollywood's favourite sports team in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the Lakers moved from the Inglewood Forum to their current home of the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Bryant's highest scoring total for a single game came in 2002 when he put up 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. Only Wilt Chamberlain, at 100 points, had a bigger single-game in NBA history.
Bryant’s star power translated into the entertainment world as he mingled with show business stars in Los Angeles.
In 2018 he won an Oscar for his animated short film “Dear Basketball”.
But he was also accused of sexual assault in 2003 by an employee at a Colorado hotel, tarnishing his reputation and leading to a media storm to cover his trial.
The basketball star addresses the audience after his final game. Source: AP
Bryant denied the claims and charges eventually were dropped after the woman refused to testify.
Bryant and his wife Vanessa filed for divorce in 2011 after 10 years of marriage but in 2013 the couple said they had reconciled their differences.
with wires...
