Further details have emerged about the fatalities in the helicopter crash that killed NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Maria.
The plane they were travelling in crashed in Calabasas, California at 10am local time yesterday.
While it was originally believed five people were aboard the flight, it has now been reported that nine people were on board, with none surviving.
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It is reported that the plane was en-route to Gianna Maria’s basketball practice at Mamba Academy.
The 13-year-old was a rising star basketball player.
Others on-board the flight reportedly included Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa.
Christina Mauser, Bryant’s assistant coach in youth basketball, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton, who was reportedly on Gianna’s basketball team were also aboard the flight.
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The helicopter departed John Wayne Airport at 9:06 am on Sunday.
The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. near Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street.
At 9.47 am authorities received an emergency call with firefighters arriving on scene to discover the crash had ignited a bush fire in the hillside.
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Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told TMZ they heard the plane “sputtering” moments before the fatal crash.
A spokesperson for the L.A police department revealed that the weather conditions of extreme fog meant that conditions did not meet minimum standards for the flight to take place.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
