Journalist and pilot among three killed after news helicopter crashes in LA
Photojournalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw have been named as being among three people killed after an NBC Los Angeles helicopter crashed in the city's suburbs, the station has confirmed.
NBC Los Angeles said its NewsChopper4, which also operated for Telemundo 52, was in the area on Tuesday reporting on a deadly bus crash which killed two people.
Fire officials said an unidentified pedestrian was also killed, and two others were taken to hospital.
Tributes, including from the local news community, have started to come in led by the station's hosts, who called the victims "valued friends and colleagues". One CBS editor said their "hearts are shattered".
George Marciniw via CBS News"That helicopter community is a small group of people, and it's just devastating to know that this has happened to one of those people, to our friends and our colleagues at NBC4," said Mike Rogers, CBS Los Angeles assignment editor.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was "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," she wrote on X, while the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) similarly extended its "thoughts and prayers" to all those affected.
The aircraft went down just before 19:00 local time (01:00 BST) between two commercial buildings in the Chatsworth neighbourhood, an LAFD spokesperson told the BBC.
Fire from the crash spread to four vehicles and two storage containers, and more than 70 firefighters were deployed to the scene, the LAFD added.
During emotional live coverage on NBC4, veteran news anchor Colleen Williams confirmed it was the local news station's helicopter that crashed.
"We knew it was a news chopper. We knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we've just received confirmation," Williams said.
Earlier, LAFD Captain Branden Silverman told the local affiliate of the BBC's US partner CBS that the third victim in the crash appeared to have been on the ground.
"That person was declared deceased on scene," Silverman said.
Several news helicopters were in the area at the time of the incident reporting on a bus crash.
In the crash which was being reported on, two people were killed and six others were injured when an SUV hit a city bus in Chatsworth, BBC's US partner CBS reported.
EPACalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X that "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".
"Thank you to the first responders working tirelessly tonight."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation into the incident.
