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NBC4 helicopter crashes, killing 3 near scene of fatal bus collision in Chatsworth
Police and firefighters investigate the scene where a helicopter crashed and burst into flames Tuesday night in Chatsworth not far from a serious accident involving a Metro bus that also left three people dead.
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Ronaldo Bolanos
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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A news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing at least three people near the scene of where an SUV had slammed into a city bus, officials said.
The helicopter crashed around 7 p.m. near a one-story commercial building in the neighborhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according the Los Angeles Fire Department.
An NBC4 Los Angeles anchor at the station confirmed during a live broadcast that its chopper went down just before 7 p.m.
At least one person killed in the helicopter crash was outside in the parking lot next to the commercial building, Capt. Branden Silverman, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said during a news conference. It was unclear if the other two who were killed were on the ground or inside the aircraft.
The scene of a deadly helicopter crash in Chatsworth broadcast be CBSLA.
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Courtesy CBSLA
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What NBC4 is reporting
NBC4 has confirmed the two people killed aboard the NewsChopper4 helicopter Tuesday night were reporter Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. Both, the news outlet said, were employees of Angel City Air. In a story on NBC4's website, Moreno is described as "a familiar voice for NBC4 and Telemundo 52 during the station's aerial coverage."
Prior to confirming it was a helicopter reporting for NBC4, NBC reporters acknowledged the newsroom had lost contact with their team. The news helicopter was among several in the area covering a fatal bus crash.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said, in a statement on social media: "I’m absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth tonight. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash."
One person was taken to the hospital, but their condition was not immediately clear.
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“We’re trying to determine how many patients were inside the helicopter,” said Silverman, who described the helicopter as “pretty well destroyed” and adding that officials would be sorting through the rubble to see how many victims were on board.
At least four cars and two storage containers on the ground burned after the helicopter caught fire, which was quickly put out, according to officials. More than 50 firefighters responded to the helicopter crash, according to the fire department.null
Police and LA Metro investigate the scene of a crash between an SUV and a LA Metro Bus that left three people dead on Tuesday in Chatsworth.
(
Ronaldo Bolanos
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
About two hours before the crash, an SUV slammed into the middle of a city bus, killing at least two people and injuring six others. Photos and videos online showed half of the SUV lodged into the side of an MTA bus.
The helicopter crashed about a mile and a half from the bus crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said it will be investigating the cause of the helicopter crash.
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