LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant, the basketball superstar who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday morning, officials said. He was 41.
Four other people, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, died in the crash in a remote field around 10 a.m. local time (1800 GMT) about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of central Los Angeles, the city of Calabasas said on Twitter.
There were no survivors.
"This is a moment that leaves us struggling to find words that express the magnitude of shock and sorrow we are all feeling right now, and I am keeping Kobe's entire family in my prayers at this time of unimaginable grief," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.
First responders put out the flames of the crash site, Los Angeles County Sheriff 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 championships with the Lakers and was named an NBA all-star 18-times in his 20-year career with the team. He was third leading scorer in league history with 33,643 points until LeBron James passed him on Saturday.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KingJamesmoved up to 3rd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list Saturday! pic.twitter.com/pCTk2DsHVY
— NBA (@NBA)
Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
Bryant's star power translated into the entertainment world as he mingled with show business stars in Los Angeles.
In 2018 he won an Oscar for his animated short film "Dear Basketball."
But he was also accused of sexual assault in 2003 by an employee at a Colorado hotel, tarnishing his reputation and leading to a media storm to cover his trial.
Bryant denied the claims and charges eventually were dropped after the woman refused to testify.
Bryant and his wife Vanessa filed for divorce in 2011 after 10 years of marriage but in 2013 the couple said they had reconciled their differences.