Kobe Bryant has died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash that took place in Calabasas, California.

The NBA legend was reportedly traveling with 9 other people in a private helicopter when the helicopter went down. Reports noted that a fire broke out and that emergency personnel responded but no one aboard the helicopter survived. So far, five people have been confirmed dead.

The helicopter crash, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, caused a brush fire, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby said. Tony Altobelli told CNN his brother, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56; John’s daughter Alyssa and wife Keri were killed in the crash.

 

Bryant, 41, and his daughter were expected at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a basketball game scheduled for noon Sunday. Gianna was expected to play in the game and Bryant was expected to coach, according to Lady Mavericks team director Evelyn Morales.

 

Altobelli was a former assistant baseball coach at the University of Houston, the school said. Alyssa and Gianna were teammates. Christina Mauser, an assistant girls basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, California, was killed in the crash, her husband Matt Mauser, wrote on his Facebook page.

 

“My kids and I are devastated. We lost our beautiful wife and mom today in a helicopter crash,” he wrote.

The sheriff’s department said it received reports of the downed aircraft around 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m PT), officials said in a tweet:

Kobe Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna was on-board the helicopter when it went down.

 

Kobe had a love of helicopters.

Ten years ago, GQ Magazine wrote about how Bryant regularly took his own helicopter to work:

“He takes a private helicopter from Orange County, where he lives with his wife and two children, to every home game. It’s a nice dash of glitz, a touch of showbiz (but) Bryant says the helicopter is just another tool for maintaining his body. It’s no different than his weights or his whirlpool tubs or his custom-made Nikes. Given his broken finger, his fragile knees, his sore back and achy feet, not to mention his chronic agita, Bryant can’t sit in a car for two hours. The helicopter, therefore, ensures that he gets to Staples Center feeling fresh, that his body is warm and loose and fluid as mercury when he steps onto the court.”

 

 

Kobe Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant, and their four daughters — Gianna, Natalia and Bianca and their newborn Capri.