At least three people have been killed after a news helicopter crashed in a commercial area of Chatsworth, a neighbourhood in northwest Los Angeles, United States.
The KNBC helicopter crashed shortly before 7pm on Tuesday, near the scene of a deadly bus collision that emergency officials and news crews were responding to, the station reported.
KNBC anchor Colleen Williams said the station lost contact with the helicopter crew shortly before the crash.
Three people were pronounced dead at the scene, while another person was taken to a local hospital.
The condition of the injured person was not immediately known, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
One of those killed was a pedestrian who was in a parking lot at the time of the crash, LAFD Fire Captain Branden Silverman told reporters.
He said the helicopter was “pretty well destroyed”, adding that emergency workers would have to search through the wreckage to identify the victims and confirm the aircraft’s identification.
The crash sparked a fire after the helicopter came down near several vehicles and two large cargo containers.
The fire was later extinguished after 56 firefighters responded to the scene.
Four vehicles and the two storage containers were damaged, according to the fire department.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, and authorities have not disclosed how many people were aboard the helicopter.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to investigate the crash.
FAA records showed that the helicopter was a Eurocopter AS350 B2, manufactured in 2004. The model is a popular single-engine utility helicopter.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass expressed sadness over the incident, saying she was “absolutely devastated by the loss of life in Chatsworth”.
“My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we lost in the tragic bus collision and helicopter crash,” she said.
