NBC local news helicopter crashes in Los Angeles, killing three

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An NBC local news helicopter crashed in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, killing three people, NBC said during a live television broadcast.

NBC Los Angeles anchors on air identified the aircraft as their NewsChopper 4 helicopter.

"We've been telling you that we've been piecing it together here. We knew it was a news chopper. We knew we'd lost contact with our people out there, and we've just received the confirmation that, in fact, NewsChopper 4 went down just before 7 o'clock tonight in Chatsworth," NBC anchor Colleen Williams said.

Five patients were assessed at the scene, with three pronounced dead and two others taken to hospital, the Los Angeles Fire Department said at a news conference shortly after 9:30 p.m. local time (0430 GMT Wednesday).

At least one person killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to a commercial building, said the fire department. It was not immediately clear whether the other two who were killed were on the ground or inside the aircraft.

The NBC anchors did not say how many people had been on board the network's helicopter.

The helicopter crash occurred after a vehicle collision in the area involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle earlier on Tuesday that killed at least two people.

According to media reports, several TV news helicopters were in the area reporting on the bus collision, when the NBC helicopter crashed.

Reports said the helicopter crashed and burst into flames near a storage building in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash.

At least four cars and two storage containers caught fire after the helicopter crashed, the fire department said. The fire was quickly put out as more than 70 firefighters responded to the crash, the department said in its briefing.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, the fire department said.

NBC said the helicopter was operated by Angel City Air, which is affiliated with the station. Angel City Air did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was "devastated" by the loss of life in the helicopter crash and the bus collision in Chatsworth.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also shared his condolences and said "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".

NBC, owned by Comcast, and the Los Angeles Fire Department did not immediately respond to emailed requests for further details. — Reuters