Three dead and another hospitalised after news helicopter crashes in Los Angeles near scene of fatal bus collision
The helicopter had been in the area after a passenger vehicle collided with a Los Angeles Metro bus earlier on Tuesday, killing at least two people.
Three people have died and a fourth has been injured after a news helicopter crashed in Los Angeles following a fatal bus collision in the area.
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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," NBC anchor Colleen Williams said.
"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."
Four people were assessed at the scene, with three pronounced dead and one taken to a local hospital in an unknown condition, according to the Los Angeles fire department.
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The NBC anchors did not say how many people had been on board the network's helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, the fire department said.
The helicopter crash occurred after a vehicle collision in the area involving a Los Angeles Metro bus and a passenger vehicle earlier on Tuesday, killing at least two people.
Several other news helicopters were in the area at the time of the crash responding the the vehicle collision.
Over 50 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, the fire department said.
Capt Silverman described the helicopter as "pretty well destroyed" and said emergency teams will need to search through the rubble to establish how many victims were travelling in it.
Karen Bass, Los Angeles mayor, said she was "absolutely devastated by the loss of life".
"My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash," she added.