The NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gigi, 13, were confirmed dead in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Sunday.
“It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Kobe Bryant and four others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. The aircraft went down in a remote field off Las Virgenes around 10:00 this morning. Nobody on the ground was hurt,” the city of Calabasas said on Twitter.
Gianna or also known as Gigi, was on board the private helicopter with his father when it went down on Sunday, said representatives of the NBA star to TMZ Sports.
TMZ also reported five others are confirmed dead in the Calabasas helicopter crash.
Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant — with whom he shares all four children — was not onboard.
Kobe Bryant is survived by wife Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months.
Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter Gigi, 13, dead in Calabasas helicopter crash
The Los Angeles County Sheriff said on Twitter that five people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Los Angeles and that there were no survivors.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration identified the crashed helicopter as a Sikorsky S-76, saying in a statement that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate.
Reports say Kobe started watching basketball all the time because of her daughter Gianna.
“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that’s she’s into basketball, we watch every night,” Kobe said.
“It wasn’t me sitting there, you know, as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you know it’s like about me, and I don’t like that,” he added. “It was her, she was having such a good time,” Kobe said.