Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is giving a press conference right now and just said there were possibly 9 people on board the helicopter that crashed today claiming the life of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter:
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva: plane manifest said nine people were on board of Kobe Bryant helicopter.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) January 26, 2020
The coroner is on the scene now:
NEW: LA Sheriff Alex Villanueva says NINE people were on flight manifest – pilot plus 8 passengers, and that investigators on scene believe they’ve found remains consistent with that number
— Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) January 26, 2020
They are still working to confirm this:
So to recap: the flight manifest said there were nine people aboard the helicopter that crashed. The sheriff believes there were nine people on board, but won’t be able to confirm until the coroner investigates. They are still working to notify next of kin.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) January 26, 2020
The helicopter reportedly belonged to Kobe Bryant himself:
Sheriff says 9 people, not 5, died in today's helicopter crash in Calabasas. The helicopter belonged to Kobe Bryant.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 26, 2020
The FAA and NTSB are heading to the scene of the crash now:
In news briefing of @LASDHQ, nine people confirmed dead in the helicopter crash in So Cal that killed Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna this morning. FAA on scene, NTSB & medical examiner heading to scene
— Robbin Simmons (@RobbinSimmons7) January 26, 2020
Video:
LA County Sheriff says they believe 9 people died on the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant pic.twitter.com/6p23XYCKkO
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 26, 2020