US NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash in California, according to US media reports.
the LA Lakers icon was travelling with four others in a private aircraft when it came down in Calabasas near Los Angeles, California, US.
He was 41.
Bryant was among at least four people travelling in his private helicopter over Calabasas when a fire broke out, sending the chopper spiralling from the sky, according to TMZ Sports. The report goes on to say that the helicopter went up in a ball of fire after hitting the ground.
Sources say among the 5 people killed was Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
Eyewitnesses told celebrity news site TMZ they heard the helicopter’s engine sputtering before it went down.
There were no survivors
