Ex-basketball star Kobe Bryant dead in helicopter crash

Washington - 26 January 2020: Retired basketball star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday morning, the Washington Post reported, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.

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. It did not identify the victims.

First responders put out the flames of the crash site, the sheriff's department said, posting a picture of a fire truck and smoke emerging from the brush in a ravine.

Bryant was known to use a helicopter for travel dating to his days as a star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, when he commuted to games in a Sikorsky S-76 chopper, the celebrity news website TMZ said.

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.

Bryant won five NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was an 18-times NBA All-Star who wore the No. 24 during his 20-year career with the team.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, Bianca, and Capri, who was born in June 2019.